Health harm caused by electric cars? Tesla driver sounds the alarm

A video of a Tesla driver is currently going viral on the social media platform Instagram. It settles accounts with the electric car manufacturer. “In 2021, I bought a Tesla without knowing how much it would affect my health,” the American commented in her clip, which has now achieved more than 64 million views.

After two and a half years of driving an electric car, she reported extreme fatigue, debilitating pain in her collarbone and neck, nosebleeds, nausea, and hair loss. She's not the only one reporting problems. There are currently reports on the Tesla Motor Club forum of mold resulting from the air conditioning in Tesla vehicles. How big is the problem and how is it related?

Shoulder and neck pain: No adjustable headrests

The woman has more than 20,000 followers on Instagram, promotes holistic health and wellness on her profile, has been living a plant-based lifestyle for five years and says she has naturally recovered from an autoimmune disease. Tesla criticizes in detail in the commentary: It started out tiring, but over time it got worse.

“I came home from shopping and had to lie in bed for 20 minutes before I could unload the car,” she says after a two-hour drive. At first she wouldn't have thought of anything. She did not realize that something was wrong until after driving for a long time with her mother in a regular car, and she says that she felt normal after that.

She also reported shoulder and neck pain that began about a year ago. She suspects this is due to the shape of the seats, but also to the non-adjustable headrest, which forces you into a forward-facing neck position with a hunched upper back. In fact, the manual for the Tesla Model S, Model 3, Model

The influencer receives a lot of plaudits in the comments. One user wrote that he works for Tesla and that the batteries are extremely harmful. He claims that after spending months driving and charging hundreds of Tesla cars at the warehouse, he became ill. “I left Tesla and felt normal after a few months,” he says.

E-mobility expert: The problem is not Tesla

“It seems that the air conditioning system is not well maintained,” said e-mobility expert Wolf Schlachter when asked by the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. He is the founder and managing director of DXBe Management, a global developer and operator of charging infrastructure. “Then the nozzles emit a musty odor into the car,” he continues.

The odor is caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that have settled in the system. According to Schlachter, its spread inside the car poses a real health risk. At a minimum, signs include watery eyes, dry throat, and the urge to cough and sneeze.

Schlachter also stresses that this is a general problem and not “just” Tesla’s fault. “I don't assume Tesla uses toxic materials in its cars,” he says. Ultimately, it is up to the customer who skips the air conditioning service for cost reasons and then parks their car outside a little longer when the environment is humid or the temperatures are high.

In fact, this seems to be a common problem. If your car's air conditioner smells bad, this may indicate that mold has formed in the cabin filter. The Auto Club Europe (ACE) recommends changing the filter once a year – but at the latest when it smells funny. Many workshops change the filter during the annual inspection anyway.

A Tesla Model S owner reported problems with the air conditioning

However, such problems seem to be increasingly present among Tesla drivers. X user Miss Jilianne, who describes herself on the platform as a “full self-driving tester” of the Tesla Model S and, as she says, shares honest, unedited videos and live drives, also complained about the air conditioning last December. It fills the interior of the car not with fresh air, but with bad-smelling air.

On the Tesla Car Club website, one owner complains of a “bad smell coming from the air vents.” Another user explains that the high humidity and condensation of air conditioners in some areas causes mold to form there.

It is still unclear why the American woman, whose video is currently going viral, has had more nosebleeds since driving a Tesla. She explains the nausea that suddenly struck her during long-haul flights due to high levels of radiation, because she now also feels sick while flying, she writes.

The World Health Organization acknowledges that there are gaps in knowledge

In electric vehicles, electric and magnetic fields arise mainly during operation and when charging vehicles. For several years, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has been investigating the electromagnetic fields created in the passenger compartment of an electric vehicle, how high the radiation is and the risks it poses to human health.

However, studies to date cannot provide a general statement about whether alternative (electric) driving systems will result in the population being more exposed to magnetic fields in the future than is currently the case with conventional vehicles. On the one hand, the number of vehicles equipped with alternative drive systems currently available is still very small, and on the other hand, there is currently a lack of systematically collected and represented measurement data from conventional vehicles.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted in its assessment that EMFs can cause symptoms such as headaches or poor concentration in people. However, there is currently no scientific evidence of a link between these symptoms and exposure to electromagnetic fields. However, the organization points out gaps in our knowledge of biological effects.

Meanwhile, the influencer sold her Tesla five months ago. Since then, her and her husband's symptoms have disappeared.

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