Ludicrous: AXA Staged Tesla Battery Fire Without The Battery

AXA staged a public crash test of a Tesla to demonstrate the risk of a battery fire, but there was no battery in the vehicle.

In a video shared by AXA, a Tesla Model S is seen scraping over a ramp before overturning, hitting the ground and catching fire.

The crash video spread through social media before AXA admitted to the German publication 24AutoDE that there was no battery in the vehicle, and it had instead used pyrotechnics.

‘For safety reasons, it was not possible to ignite a real battery fire at an event with around 500 people, which is why a fire with pyrotechnics was staged,’ AXA told the publication.

The insurer said it had aimed to ‘point out the danger’ of a cell fire, which it said could result from damage to the underside of an electric vehicle (EV).