A dog left alone in a locked, parked car can be cause for alarm. According to the Humane Society of the United States, high temperatures inside vehicles can lead to “irreparable organ damage and even death” for the poor pup.
One Tesla driver, however, was keen to let passersby know that their pooch was perfectly comfortable inside the electric car with a handy note left on the touch screen.
“My driver will be back soon,” the message said, alongside a temperature reading of just over 71 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius).
The adorable pooch was difficult to ignore, warranting a picture and a post on Facebook’s Dogspotting group that boasts 1.9 million members.
Adorable dog or not, a lot of the comments focused on the helpful feature inside the Tesla.
“I won’t lie I think that Tesla feature is absolutely one of the coolest features on them,” one user said.
“That Tesla feature omg,” another added. “I hate them but I’d buy it specifically for my dogs.”
“Every car should have this option,” said a third. “So cool!”
Teslas undoubtedly divide opinion, but the touch screen certainly swayed a few dog lovers on Facebook.
What’s hard to deny, though, is how Teslas provide a number of environmental benefits.
The brand’s machines produce zero tailpipe emissions, making them much kinder to the planet than dirty-fuel-powered equivalents. The harmful gases found in vehicle exhaust fumes act like a blanket around the Earth and increase global temperatures, which can also encourage extreme weather events.
In turn, electric cars do not harm air quality when they drive by. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, toxins like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide that passenger vehicles produce can increase respiratory ailments like asthma and bronchitis, and they can also lead to cancer. Around 30,000 premature deaths a year can be put down to particulate matter pollution.
Transport and Environment has set out a number of conditions to determine the benefits of electric cars over internal-combustion-engine models.
In the worst-case scenario, an electric car with a battery produced in China and driven in Poland will create 37% less pollution than a petrol equivalent.
Meanwhile, an electric car with a battery produced in Sweden and driven in Sweden will create 82% less than a petrol car.
With more power being added to the grid from renewable sources such as wind and solar, these reductions in pollution will also increase in the future.
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