In a press release issued on 1 September 2022, AXA Switzerland issued an apology for faking a Tesla Model S fire during a crash test. The insurer had tampered with the car by replacing the vehicle's battery with a flammable charge.
According to AXA, the staging was intended to show "the dangers that can occur in accidents involving electric cars". Unfortunately for the insurer, the result was quite the opposite of what was expected. A large number of internet users who viewed the crash-test video reproached the insurer for having disseminated false information on the fire risk linked to electric vehicle batteries.
In its report "Electric car accidents: new risks for road safety?", AXA stated that in the event of an accident, this type of vehicle does not present a greater fire risk than combustion engine cars. This finding is in line with the results of the NHTSA (US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) reports.
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