Science

Tesla's 'Bioweapon Defense Mode' helped someone escaping a fire

It's working.

Inverse

A Tesla owner recently posted a video using the vehicle’s “Bioweapon Defense Mode” while driving near a wildfire in California.

According to Tesla, this mode activates a “HEPA filtration system capable of stripping the outside air of pollen, bacteria, and pollution before they enter the cabin and systematically scrubbing the air inside the cabin to eliminate any trace of these particles.”

This is similar to the kind of air filtration system you would find in a hospital. Tesla says it’s “hundreds of times more efficient” than the average car’s filtration system. Tesla claims you could survive a “military-grade bio attack” with their air filter. It’s available in the Model S and the Model X.

A reddit user claim they recently tried the filtration while escaping a fire in California and found it to be effective.

Elon Musk recommended people escaping fires in California use the filtration system last year. Many people did use it during those fires and found it helpful. This reddit story is further evidence that it works.

“Bioweapon defense mode significantly helped with air quality in the car,” the reddit user wrote. “Also the car didn’t require us to turn off autopilot and followed lane marking well until we decided ourselves to turn it off!”

Last year, large parts of Northern California were experiencing extremely poor air quality because of fires in the region, so it might be smart to use this filter even if you’re not that close to the fire.

Read more: How Tesla’s “Bioweapon Defense Mode” has helped in California wildfire

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