While Tesla vehicles are not currently available in South Africa yet, drivers may be in for a surprise when they see the car’s seatbelts.
That’s because none of Elon Musks’s cars have red seatbelt buttons – instead opting for variants of black, white and tan.
Why have they made the decision to the differentiate from the well-known red? The answer is as simple as ‘because they can”, reports Jalopnik.
Red seatbelt buckles are a requirement, but not in America. European seatbelt regulation, in particular ECE R16, states: “The buckle release area shall be coloured red. No other part of the buckle shall be of this colour.”
The corresponding U.S. regulation, FMVSS 209, does not specify a required buckle button color, hence why Tesla is able to use interior color-matched buttons, but only on U.S. spec models.
This means Tesla have likely opted to pay slightly more (as opposed to the cheaper, standard red buckles) to maintain a more elegant interior.
As a result, the Tesla Model 3 may need a bit of spray paint when it eventually makes its way to South Africa.
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Tesla = retards. Red is easier. If the thing is standardised it’s easier to use across the board for you and your passangers, especially in an emergency. Now enjoy explaining to each new passanger how to do the seat belt.
Americans usually err on the side of function in the style vs function battle.
Anyhow export the car to EU and then you have to put in the stupid red block. Morons.