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Watch: Confirmed fake Tesla Model S “battery fire” video from AXA Insurance
There are times when the Tesla news beat comes up with strange stories. Over the years, I’ve covered a number of these, from EV charging stalls being filled with uncooked ground meat to strange attacks on Teslas just because of hatred towards Elon Musk. Even among these, however, the recent “battery fire” demonstration from AXA Insurance is something else — just for how ridiculous it is.
The premise of AXA Insurance’s test was simple — EV batteries could catch fire in the event of a crash. As noted in my colleague Johnna Crider’s earlier piece, AXA accomplished this by removing the battery in a Tesla Model S sedan and fitting the vehicle with pyrotechnics. This way, the demonstration was “safe” and AXA could be ensured that a “battery fire” would indeed happen.
The best thing about this whole situation was that AXA flat-out admitted to this. “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,” the insurance provider explained.
A video of the demonstration has spread online, and without the proper context behind the test, viewers could easily be fooled into thinking that Teslas easily catch fire. In the video, one could see a yellow Model S sedan being launched into a ramp, flipping over, landing on its roof, and bursting into flame.
What is interesting in the whole situation was that without the shenanigans pulled by AXA — like removing the battery and loading the car with pyrotechnics — it would have been pretty challenging to demonstrate how a Tesla bursts into flame. Tesla has noted in its 2021 Impact Report that fire incidents are 11x lower for its vehicles than the average in the United States.
Had AXA actually launched a Tesla Model S with a battery pack, there was a pretty good chance that no fire would have happened. Apart from this, the Model S’ battery pack gives the vehicle a very low center of gravity, so flipping the car would have been a challenge in itself too. Simply put, the Model S sedan could have embarrassed AXA by either refusing to flip or catch fire if it actually had its battery equipped.
Hence the pyrotechnics.
One could assume that AXA Insurance knew exactly what it was doing. AXA is a popular insurance provider that covers Teslas, after all, so it seems safe to assume that the company is aware of how rare battery fires really are. AXA claims that it wanted to show how thermal runways can cause fires in an EV, but it ended up demonstrating a fire that is nothing close to a thermal runway in the process.
This all seems extremely careless for the insurance provider. Tesla, after all, is in the process of forming an assertive legal team designed to protect the company from unfair, damaging efforts. A staged battery fire in a Model S without a battery definitely misrepresents the safety of EVs as a whole, so Tesla may very well have some grounds to file legal action against the insurance provider. And that, in a way, would be just as fun to watch as AXA’s staged Model S “battery fire” video.
In any case, here is a video of AXA’s “battery fire” demonstration using a Tesla Model S without a battery.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:
The hazard lights button will be used as an emergency stop. Smart pic.twitter.com/vkYBioqmKm
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) March 10, 2026
We have braille on the interior door releases as well
— Eric (@EricETesla) March 11, 2026
This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.
It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.
The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.
Elon Musk
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.
Musk said:
“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”
Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.
The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.
From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.
However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.
Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.
Elon Musk
Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.
The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.
Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.
Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.
The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.
Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.
Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
