The U.S. automaker put a Model Y next to a BMW inside of a plastic bubble and exploded a few gas grenades there to see which car has the better air filtering tech on board.
As the bubble began filling with a red smoke, the Model Y retained transparent air in the cabin, while the BMW car visibly filled with red mist. The filter was then pulled from the Tesla for examination: it was all red.
Tesla utilizes HEPA filtering in its vehicles, which is widely considered among the world’s most efficient means of particle detention. Its combination of coarse and fine fibers stops suspended particles of nearly all sizes.
The video advertises the car’s “Bioweapon Defense Mode”, which you can turn on with a dedicated button on the center console display. Once activated, the feature puts all the air from outside the car through a giant HEPA filter. The filter in the Model X is said to be 10 times larger than in other premium cars and about 100 times as effective, intercepting no less than 99.97% of the particles.
The Bioweapon Defense Mode is available in all Model Y SUVs right now. The Model S and Model X also offer HEPA filtration of the incoming air, while the Model 3 is said to be too compact to implement a similar solution.
The message Tesla wants us to get is that electric cars don’t just zero out on harmful emissions – they protect those inside from the already polluted air.