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Comment by andrewtbham | Hacker News Reader

Since the car is so quiet... I wonder if the noise the car makes on these clips is an overdub.

Jalopnik thinks they were dubbed: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/why-is-60-minutes-dubbing-m...

But I also remember reading somewhere that the ADA was pushing for electric cars to emit noise for deaf and hard hearing pedestrians.

"But I also remember reading somewhere that the ADA was pushing for electric cars to emit noise for deaf and hard hearing pedestrians."

I read a similar one except it was regarding blind pedestrians.

I'm not sure how a silent vehicle would affect deaf person.

And that is why I shouldn't post comments online when I should be sleeping. You're right, it was for blind pedestrians.

Electric vehicle warning sounds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds

The sound is definitely from the vehicle which is doing the filming. The Tesla Model S does not sound like that.

There was an interesting section in "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" where Heinlein writes about electric cars, and how the law eventually required them to install speakers which produced fake engine sounds. This was because the cars were so quiet that no one would hear them coming, and they'd step out into the road without looking.

Which is silly if the car is going faster that 15 mph (edit: actually 18.6 mph) . At these speeds what you are hearing is the road (tire) noise, not the engine.

"The car has no transmission" - as you hear an engine downshifting multiple times

Was wondering the same thing. Those really sounded like engine noises (at maybe 1:30 or so. Right after the first break).

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