The air conditioning system in the new Tesla Model X has three way : circulating air from outside the gondola , re - circulating air travel that ’s already inside the cabin , and a “ bioweapon defense mode , ” triggered by a button on the fascia , which creates positive press inside the cabin to keep out-of-door particles at bay . So , does it work ? We asked bioweapons expert for their take on Tesla ’s panic button .
Colonel Randall Larsen , turn in from the U.S. Air Force and now the conductor of the Institute for Homeland Security , say he has want to buy a Tesla for a long prison term . “ I ’m in reality build a young house , and I had them put an electric charger in the garage , just in instance I buy a Tesla , ” he told me . But when I told him about the Tesla Model X ’s “ bioweapon defending team manner , ” he laughed out loud and asked , “ So , is Musk in reality advertise this ? ”
Yes , he really is .
Gotta Catch ‘Em All
To be deal a real HEPA filter , an aura filter has to move out 99.97 % of 0.3 micrometer speck from the air . A 0.3 micrometer HEPA filter is o.k. enough to catch bacteria like splenic fever , which ranges from 1 to 1.2 micrometers across . It will also stop the plague and most other bacteria , as well as most pollen , dust , and fungal spores . HEPA filters also come in a 0.2 micrometer gauge size , but it ’s severe to make a filter catch much smaller particles , because that can make it too unmanageable to advertise the strain through the filter .
“ Now , if you ’re worried about bacterial agents like anthrax or plague , a undecomposed filtering system of rules would in all probability protect you , ” said Larsen .
But viruses are much little than bacteria , which mean they ’re harder to dribble out of the melodic line . “ Well , 0.3 micrometer caliper wo n’t hold back viruses . It will have back most bacteria , but it wo n’t hold back viruses . So , if you believe that all bioterrorist agents are bacteria , then you ’ll get an increment of auspices , ” enunciate Michael J. Buchmeier , lieutenant director of the Pacific Southwest Regional Center for Biodefense and Emerging Diseases at the University of California , Irvine .
Smallpox , for representative , is between 200 and 300 nanometers wide , which mean it ’s right on the edge of a standard HEPA filter ’s effectuality , so — assuming you were driving through a cloud of aerosolized smallpox particles for some reason — it ’s potential that some might still get through the filter . And the influenza A virus is 80 - 120 nanometers panoptic , so it can pass through even a 0.2 micron HEPA filter without a job . “ It ’s a statistical plot that we spiel , ” said Buchmeier . “ Any filter like that is going to be effective to a degree but it ’s not needs 100 % efficient . ”
When he introduced the Tesla Model X to the world last night , Musk arrogate that the car ’s HVAC scheme was 800 times good at filtering out viruses than other elevator car — and that ’s plausibly true . stack of virus are large enough to get catch by a HEPA filter but small-scale enough to get through an average cabin air filter , so the HEPA system probably does help . The difficulty is that there are a lot of viruses out there that it ca n’t halt , including some with bioweapons potential .
Viruses are really , really modest .
Contents Under Pressure
Tesla says its “ bioweapon defence mode ” also create positive pressure inside the cabin to protect the car ’s occupier . That should keep remote airwave from entering the SUV ’s cabin at all — but the extra air for positivistic pressurization has to come from somewhere .
Update : As Tesla depict it , “ The biological defense clitoris is designed to allow uninfected medical - grade air into the cabin and keep contaminate air out . When deployed , it bear on the scheme into full reinvigorated way , pulling all HVAC air through the HEPA filter . The fan proceed to max speed 11 , pulling in enough breeze to slightly pressurise the cabin , keep other air from entering Model X. ”
“ So that ’s not insignificant , but it does n’t in itself solve the job , because you still have to have some way to filter that air , ” said Buchmeier .
Another problem is that for actuate bioweapon defence mechanism modality , you have to hump there ’s been a biologic attack nearby — and the first sign of a biological attack might come days or even weeks later when people begin picture up at the infirmary with symptom , Larsen charge out . Unlike radiological “ dirty bombs ” or even chemic attacks , biological attacks tend to be pernicious and unvoiced to find until it ’s too late . “ The key problem with the bio is knowing when it ’s been free , ” he say . “ You know , it ’s not like there ’s a big bang or something . ”
By the time symptom bug out appear , it ’s a little late to hit a splasher button . Buchmeier told me , “ It ’s a pretty extravagant foresighted scene anyway , you have it away , the idea that you ’re going to be forewarned enough to implement this filter in time to prevent any photo . ”
This chart does n’t include bioterrorist attacks .
Breathe Easier
At the end of the day , “ bioweapon defense fashion ” is probably overkill , anyway . If you ’re already in your car , it does n’t take positive pressurization and HEPA filters to stay reasonably safe , even if there ’s a biologic attack in your area .
“ I first thought about this right after 9/11 when we were just look for a lot of practical thing for people to do , and one of them is , you just push that clitoris that most car have , that says you stop pulling in outside atmosphere , ” said Larsen . “ I think any good machine that has a safe seal on the doors and windows and everything , and if you went to the inside air to recycle , I call up it ’s sound to provide you a lot of trade protection . ” That ’s not anywhere near the same grade of protection as a HEPA filter , of course of action , but unless you ’re right next to a biological weapon when it ’s release , it does n’t really need to be .
In part , that ’s because a car in motion passes through a fate of tune , and that help dilute the density of any virus particles that might be around the vehicle . “ Our aegis there is dilution . mean about how much air passes over a car proceed at highway speed , and how little of that air is actually inhaled by the occupants of the cable car , ” said Buchmeier .
On the other hand , the Tesla Model X ’s doomsday - prepper HVAC system does have an everyday feature which might attract some buyers . It could really avail filter out allergens like ragweed and cedar tree pollen , fungal spore like the I that cause Valley Fever , and irritants like smoke and dust . It could also dribble out unpleasant roadside odors , like cows prey pot or ripe roadkill .
“ There are a bunch of reasons why you would put a filter like that in , and only one of them is biological terrorism , ” said Buchmeier .
reach the author at[email protected]orfollow her on Twitter .
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