> 1. You are intending to ask about tension (which the rebar helps with), not traction (the force your tires exert against a road).
I don’t know if it is the case here, but it is a common mistake for some non-native English speakers. In some languages traction is a false friend.
And in English, traction also means pulling, but it got somewhat misapplied to the friction of tires, causing confusion in the language. For example, a tractor is something that pulls, and when a broken leg is put in traction, it's suspended to pull it apart and keep the muscles from pulling it together.
Tension, as you say, is indeed the term used in physics and engineering for the force on an object pulling it from either end.