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Learn hidden Tesla Model S safety facts from this first responder video

We all know that crashes can happen in a Tesla Model S. What not all of us know is how to approach a smashed vehicle in such a situation. That's where a new video, Emergency Response To Electric Vehicles, with Brock Archer and Ron Moore from Boron Extrication comes in. The training video, put together with the help of Tesla Motors, does not feature any spectacular crash footage (you can get that here) but does cover things like demystifying the dangers of an EV that has crashed in a puddle of water, the way an EV's body structure could fracture while being cut and the basics of electricity flowing through a circuit. It also discusses a few pertinent questions: How do the two electrical systems (12V low-voltage system and the high-voltage powertrain system) affect first responders trying to cut their way into the passenger cabin? Do first responders know all of the different ways an EV tells you if it is currently receiving a charge when it is plugged in? How can you locate the different types of batteries? There's lots here that applies to all EVs in the 37-minute video, not just the Model S, so if you want to know more about how safe - or unsafe - they are after an accident, watch the whole thing below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Auto News Green Tesla Safety Electric Videos first responder

More speculation about Tesla Gigafactory announcement

Should we all be laying our chips down on Nevada for Tesla's proposed Gigafactory? At least a few news sources are saying yes, though another says there's a remote chance of a San Francisco Bay Area site getting the nod. Real remote. The frontrunner appears to be the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, which is about 20 miles east of Reno proper and includes warehousing sites for Walmart, Dell and Petsmart, Transport Evolved says. Compared to other states in the running, Nevada has the advantages of lower taxes, lots of cheap real estate and some lithium-mining capabilities, while the specific site has very good highway and rail access. There's also already a li-ion company there, Dragonfly Energy. Feeding that belief is the sight of about 50 earthmoving trucks recently spotted at that site, says ValueWalk, Greentech Media and Jalopnik, in addition to Transport Evolved. But then we heard that the site had been shut down. Nobody involved is giving any clues, but the site is plenty big enough for a $5 billion, 10-million-square-foot plant that would support about 6,500 jobs. Meanwhile, Tesla may also be considering the former Concord Naval Weapons Station about 35 miles northeast of San Francisco and 45 miles north of Tesla's Fremont headquarters, says KTVU, the NBC affiliate for the San Francisco Bay Area. The problem is that's a Superfund site in need of some remediation. But that sort of cleaning project could be a good fit for a company focused on "clean" energy. Tesla is, of course, declining to comment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said early last month that it was in "quite advanced" stages of planning for the plant, or perhaps two plants, and that the company was meeting on a daily basis with partner and battery-supplier Panasonic. The company is expected to officially announce the location of the Gigafactory later this year, and it could be up and running by the end of 2016.

New Jersey will let Tesla continue selling EVs until April 15

Tesla sales in New Jersey were supposed to end today, following the state legislature vote a few weeks ago to pull Tesla's sales license there. At the eleventh hour, though, Gov. Chris Christie's administration has extended the deadline to April 15. The specifics of the situation are that the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) is going to give new car dealers until the middle of the month to submit their franchise agreement (which, of course, Tesla stores don't have). That means, for now, it's business as usual The two-week extension could keep Tesla alive in the Garden State. While it's only a two-week extension, it could be enough to keep the California automaker alive in the Garden State. This is because state assemblyman Tim Eustace (a Democrat and EV driver) submitted a bill the other day that would allow Tesla to sell cars directly to customers in New Jersey. One interesting component of Eustace's bill is that it only applies to zero-emission vehicles as long as they make up less than four percent of all the new cars sold in the state. Eustace told NJ.com that this bill might be fast-tracked into law because it has leadership support. Jim Appleton, the president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailer (the force behind the anti-Tesla movement), said, "to the extent that there is legislation that would allow an all-zero emission vehicle automaker to enter the market for a period of time without franchises, before they eventually convert to a franchise system, it makes sense." You can read the proposed bill here. The MVC gave Tesla a license to sell cars in 2012 and Tesla now operates two stores in New Jersey, one in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus and the other in Short Hills.