We’re over-simplifying things a bit, but each and every gasoline-engined car came apart in roughly the same manner. That’s not necessarily true with today’s hybrid vehicles and battery-electric vehicles, which introduce the added risk of high voltage into the crash scenario.
To minimize the risk to passengers and first responders, manufacturers of hybrids and battery-electric vehicles are working with fire and rescue departments to provide detailed, vehicle-specific training on disassembly and passenger extrication.
The above video, found on Wired (via Green Car Reports), shows the proper methods of safely disassembling a Tesla Model S sedan. If you have a passion for the battery-electric sport sedan, we’ll warn you that the video gets a bit hard to watch at about the 27:00 mark, when the passenger door is cut from the frame.
We’ll admit that the video is a bit on the long side, but it’s also a fascinating look at electric car construction (and deconstruction). If you need to give your brain a workout after battering it with the latest episode of “Dancing With The American Idol Stars Of Survivor,” it may prove to be just what you needed.