How Can a Car Get an Airbag Waiver?

Tesla Motors made news recently when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration exempted the company’s new all-electric Roadster from its advanced airbag requirement for three years. How does a car manage to get an airbag exemption? Not easily, but Tesla makes for a unique example.

After spending $43 million on a car that will supposedly go 220 miles on a single charge of the battery, Tesla executives must have sighed with relief after the agency’s ruling. NHTSA said that forcing Tesla to comply with the advanced airbag requirement would put the company out of business “in the U.S. and potentially worldwide.” A three year exemption should cover the first 3,825 Roadsters on the market.

The agency also cited Tesla’s all-electric powertrain in its decision, stating, “We believe that the public interest is served by encouraging the development of fuel-efficient and alternative-fueled vehicles.”

Tesla’s Roadster is not the only small car NHTSA has exempted, though. Ferrari, Bugatti and last year’s Lotus Elise have all received similar deals, so perhaps fuel efficiency was a lesser consideration than the car’s $98,000 price tag and high-end market niche. The first wave of Roadsters will begin production March 17 and are already sold out.

It’s important to note that the Tesla does include airbags, they just don’t adjust the deployment speed based on the weight of the passenger. Either way, taking a hit in a Roadster is not going to be pleasant.

Tesla Granted Air Bag Waiver (Detroit Free Press)

Comments

Why would it be so hard to comply with the weight based deployment?

They figured out how to get 220 miles out of a battery, they should be able to figure out how to install off the shelf parts.

Woogie,
You have a point there!

You might ask the same question of Ferrari and Bugatti. The technology doesn't exist "off the shelf" - each of the big company spent countless millions in development and won't hand it over easily. The waiver system was put into place so that NHTSA could establigh a very high level of requirements without making it impossible for small automakers to comply. This really had nothing to do with Tesla being an EV - just a small automaker. Interestingly enough, it doesn't make news when a waiver is issued to Lotus, Ferrari, Bugatti etc.

Go to Delphi.com

You can find airbags, crash sensors, occupant sensors, and airbag control units.

Seems to me that's everything OFF THE SHELF to handle weight based airbag deployment.

I don't give a pass to Ferrari or Bugatti either.

If you want a car with an advanced air bag, then don't buy this one. If you don't care and you have the money to buy this car - then buy it! Simple.

If you want a car with an advanced air bag, then don't buy this one. If you don't care and you have the money to buy this car - then buy it! Simple.