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Tesla driver blames 'new car smell' in fatal cyclist crash

According to the accident report compiled by the California Highway Patrol, 63-year-old driver Navindra Kumar Jain fell asleep at the wheel while driving northbound on Highway 1 in Santa Cruz, crossed into the oncoming, southbound lane, crested a small hill and then while doing 55 miles per hour hit a southbound cyclist who was riding on the shoulder. The cyclist, Joshua Alper, died at the scene. Jain was driving a Tesla Model S he had bought ten days earlier and said that the intense new-car smell - which he attempted to counter with a baking-soda scented air freshener - caused him to fall asleep.
The accident happened in November, and after a three-month investigation the Santa Cruz district attorney has decided to charge Jain with "misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter." As you could guess, there are still plenty of unresolved issues. Jain has said he "fell asleep" and there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car he had bought ten days before the incident. His attorney, however, says "he passed out while driving and still does not know what caused the accident," and that the Tesla "and all its component parts" must be thoroughly tested. The CHP tore the Tesla apart, standard practice in manslaughter cases, and, not having found anything amiss, declared the driver at fault. Observers, and especially cyclists, want to know why Jain was only charged with a misdemeanor, and why he hasn't yet been arrested. Some might ask why he didn't just roll down a window.
It will take the courts to decide - that's "courts," plural. In addition to the criminal case, Alper's family is suing Jain and Tesla, appearing to cover its bases with the new-car-smell defense by accusing the Model S of being "defective and unreasonably dangerous when used in a normal, intended and foreseeable manner." That seems like a stretch to us, but it's not like bizarre defenses haven't ever swayed a sentencing before. No matter the verdict in the criminal or civil cases, though, with Joshua Alper gone, nobody wins.

Aftermarket carbon fiber rear spoiler for Tesla Model S is priced accordingly

Need a little something extra for your Tesla Model S? Robert Strohmeyer and EV Autosalon have you covered. The item is a thin rear spoiler, and it only costs $1,200. Strohmeyer sent AutoblogGreen an email about his new aftermarket parts company focusing on full EVs and plug-in hybrids. "Naturally," he wrote, "I started with the Tesla Model S" and the spoiler is the first product he's offering. EV Autosalon claims the very first of its EVA fiberglass spoilers was shipped last week and that more will go out next week. A few things to note. The spoiler – available in both fiberglass and carbon fiber - comes unpainted "so that [it] can be painted and installed by your local body shop of choice to match your Model S perfectly." The spoiler is meant to be attached to your Model S with 3M industrial strength body molding tape and will come with templates so that you can line up the spoiler with the edges of the trunk - you don't want this one to get put on crooked. The $1,200 price tag is for the matte or glossy carbon fiber spoilers. The fiberglass version will set you back $600, well below the cost of the official carbon fiber rear spoiler for the Tesla Roadster ($1,700). If you want an official rear spoiler for the Model S, you need to order it when you order the car (there is currently no option to buy one in the accessories section of company website), and Tesla will only put it on the $85,900 85-kWh Performance model. Tesla says the official spoiler will, "improve high speed stability" and will "reduce lift at the car's rear by 77% at highway speeds, with minimal range impact." Strohmeyer isn't making any performance claims about his aftermarket spoiler, but some members of the Tesla Motors Club like the look of it. Do you?

Musk says Tesla 'definitely' won't recall Model S

Since early October, three Tesla Model S sedans have caught on fire, gained viral media coverage and received intense scrutiny, but Tesla's CEO and largest shareholder, Elon Musk, says "there's definitely not going to be a recall" of the Model S, Bloomberg reports. As of late October, the National Highway Traffic Safety administration (NHTSA) says it will not be launching a formal investigation into the Model S fire in Seattle, because there's no evidence to suggest that the fire was caused by a manufacturer defect and no government-mandated safety regulations were violated.
Though the fires are alarming, one must realize that hundreds of thousands of vehicle fires occur in the US every year. Electric Teslas, like any vehicle (including those with an internal combustion engine), are not immune to catching fire in certain situations. Here's Musk's take on the issue: "[The Model S] is about five times less likely to have a fire than an average gasoline car," he reportedly said Tuesday at the New York Times' DealBook conference in New York.
The first of the aforementioned fires occurred in Seattle and started in the battery pack after the Tesla hit a piece of road debris. The second fire occurred in Merida, Mexico, after the driver, who was speeding in his Model S, reportedly struck a raised pedestrian crossing, launched into the air and then crashed into a wall and tree. The third Model S ignition occurred after the driver ran over a tow hitch in Smyrna, Tenn., and - similar to the Seattle fire - damaged the undercarriage of the car where the battery is located.