You never design things to be indestructible. You design for a 100 year storm or something like that, or a 500 year earthquake when designing buildings. Eventually, something will happen that destroys it, but that's an acceptable risk to take. Cars aren't designed to withstand all crashes, just a certain fraction.
> Hail is becoming a prominent issue for the PV industry as more sites are being built in the central U.S. — a hail-prone region — and modules are moving towards larger formats with thinner glass.
Size and velocity of hail is an important aspect. You can design for a given average hail event and then a Big One rolls through and ruins your day. What are the chances of that Big One and is it worth the cost for more robust panels versus replacing cheaper ones should they get damaged?
My car will weather a hail storm of rice grain size no problem, but golf balls? Good luck.