With Tesla launching Model Y sales in China, the electric SUV gains exclusive features still not available yet for versions in North America.
These Shanghai-made Model Y features include a heated steering wheel, the new centre console from the Model 3 refresh, a new front driver and passenger door wood trim and HEPA filter, which we assumed was for Bioweapon Defense Mode.
Now, we have visual confirmation of Bioweapon Defense Mode in action, as shared in an image by @tesla__mania. You can see in the image below the Bioweapon Defense Mode icon enabled, above the steering wheel image:
Bioweapon Defense Mode has long been available for the Model S and Model X, but this is the first time we’re seeing it in Model Y. We presume this feature will eventually trickle down to the Model 3 as well.
Here’s how Tesla described its Bioweapon Defense Mode in 2016:
The plot below shows the subsequent evolution in pollution levels inside the vehicle and inside the bubble. In less than two minutes, the HEPA filtration system had scrubbed the air in Model X, bringing pollution levels from an extremely dangerous 1,000 µg/m3 to levels so low as to be undetectable (below the noise floor) by our instruments, allowing us to remove our gas masks and breathe fresh air while sitting inside a bubble of pollution.
Not only did the vehicle system completely scrub the cabin air, but in the ensuing minutes, it began to vacuum the air outside the car as well, reducing PM2.5 levels by 40%. In other words, Bioweapon Defense Mode is not a marketing statement, it is real. You can literally survive a military grade bio attack by sitting in your car.
Moreover, it will also clean the air outside your car, making things better for those around you. And while this test happened to be done with a Model X, the same would be true of the new Model S now in production.
With China notorious for having high levels of pollution, Bioweapon Defense Mode will be one of the selling features that will appeal to buyers in the country.
Tesla showrooms have been packed with customers checking out the Model Y, with rumoured orders said to have exceeded 100,000 in the first 10 hours.
It’s unclear if a retrofit will be available for existing Model Y owners outside of China to support a HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode. But we hope to find out soon enough.
Click here to see a hands-on with the Chinese Model Y in 1080p HD.
