What causes Tesla to catch fire?

The Myth That Tesla’s Are Catching On Fire Needs To Be Put To Rest

There are still reports that Tesla vehicles are catching on fire far more than other vehicles and this is simply not true.

Are Tesla vehicles catching on fire

One of the interesting things about Tesla is how often the media reports that their vehicles are catching on fire. The media is showing and portraying that Tesla vehicles are dangerous and catching on fire all the time, and this is simply not true.

From 2012 to 2021, there was about one Tesla catching on fire for every 210 million miles traveled. For most other vehicles, this is about one fire for every 19 million miles traveled.

Even if a Tesla vehicle does catch on fire, it is not going to explode like an internal combustion engine (gas) car would. The first would develop slowly and give time for the occupants to get out of the vehicle. Tesla vehicles are known for their safety, and there is an emergency door opener on every Tesla door.

Another important distinction here is that the media often just reports on EV fires and doesn’t report on the numerous gas car fires that happen every year. Gas is much more flammable than an EV battery or drive train.

There is an article from CarAndDriver that further explains this, and one thing that was very clear was the overestimation of the claimed percentage rate for fires given by the AutoinsuranceEZ company. It found that actually, hybrid vehicles had the most fires of all vehicles and fully electric vehicles had the least fires.

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What vehicles are catching on fire

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Even more important here is that cars are not catching fire all the time. Of all the millions upon millions of cars on the road, there were an average of 117,400 fires each year between 2013 and 2017. With just over 261 million registered vehicles in the U.S., fires are not the biggest problem with cars, whether they be EV or gas cars. That’s just .04 percent.

NHTSA also collects data about vehicle fires and says that only about 5 percent of fires in a vehicle are crash related. This puts to rest further worries that a crash with an EV or a gas car is likely to cause a fire. It’s more likely to cause a fire than if the car is just sitting there, yes, but still unlikely.

I would love to see the media report that statistic — that just .04 percent of any cars are catching on fire, and the number for a Tesla or EV compared to all Tesla vehicles and EV’s is going to be even less.

Do you have a worry that your EV or Tesla is going to catch on fire? Do you believe the statistic that only .04 percent of cars in the U.S. catch on fire each year?

The myth of Tesla prone to fire needs to be put to rest for good. https://t.co/ckx0DeEcjX

— Ray (@ray4tesla) January 30, 2023

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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he’s become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.

Tesla ‘Spontaneously’ Catches Fire on Highway, Requiring About 6,000 Gallons of Water to Extinguish

Glenn Garner is a Writer/Reporter who works heavily with PEOPLE’s Movies and TV verticals. Since graduating from Northern Arizona University with a dual major in journalism and photography, he got his professional start at OUT Magazine, The Advocate and Teen Vogue, and he’s since consistently kept his finger on the pulse of the LGBTQ community. His first book The Guncle Guide was released in 2020 and was featured on Katie Couric’s list of 100 recommended books of the year.

Published on January 30, 2023 04:28 PM

After a Tesla battery spontaneously combusted on a California highway, two fire engines and thousands of gallons of water were required to extinguish the flames.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District received a call Saturday at 3:41 p.m that a Tesla Model S was «engulfed in flames» on Highway 50 East in Rancho Cordova with «nothing unusual [happening] prior» to the incident, according to a statement shared on social media by the department.

«The vehicle battery compartment spontaneously caught fire while it was traveling freeway speeds on EB Hwy 50,» SMFD shared in the news release. «The fire was extinguished with approx 6,000 gallons of water, as the battery cells continued to combust.»

In addition to the two fire engines, a water tender and a ladder truck were used to assist. «Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery,» the release explained, also featuring photos of the firefighters’ efforts and the charred front end of the vehicle.

No injuries were reported, and a spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Although this instance is not the first of a Tesla spontaneously catching fire, CEO Elon Musk has previously stated that 0.01% of Teslas have ignited on the road, far fewer than the auto industry’s total, according to Barron’s.

SMFD Captain Parker Wilbourn previously said that although Tesla fires are rare, they can they can be «very difficult to extinguish.»

«When one battery catches fire, it preheats the next battery, the next battery and the next battery. It causes a fire and it is a chain reaction from there,» he told Fox affiliate KTXL in August.

In 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declined to open an investigation in Tesla vehicle fires, which they called «rare events,» Reuters reported at the time.