That's a little too much semantics for me. I was talking about damage to unprotected semiconductor junctions all the way up to junctions in bigger semiconductor devices as well as those in more highly protected equipment. I know, because we did a lab demonstration of it at University, that a then-typical silicon diode will fail if it is exposed to a sudden energy delivery as low as 1 microjoule. That was often an answer to the undergraduate question "how sensitive can they be?" I assume this event, which is essentially invisible and inaudible, would not be called a "discharge," but if a diode which helps to keep the steering of your car functioning soundlessly fails open, your car may fail to remain steerable. It IS a catastrophic failure if no mitigation is designed in. Is this a real discharge? I would say it doesn't matter what you called it, it forced your car to be unsteerable in a sudden event. In part of my real life I work on designs to prevent such hazardous conditions from being realized. I don't think I've heard the word "discharge" used.