Second Tesla Goes Down In Flames in Mexico City Crash

reply to post by MerkabaRising87


Did you watch the videos?

The batteries appear to explode during the fire.

reply to post by Bassago


Your point?

Most gas caps and gas pumps have "no smoking" labels on them too. Fire and automobiles don't mix well regardless of whether they are powered by gasoline or a battery, and if a fire reaches either there's possibility for a "boom". The important part is that even after slamming through a barricade and into a tree... the driver walked away safely. The notion that somehow Tesla and Fiskers autos are even comparable to the infamous Ford Pinto is laughable (especially when others like the Pontiac Fiero are taken into consideration).

I think there are over 25,000 Tesla Model S cars on the road. Not too worried about it. Pretty impressed the driver is fine.

U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 152,300 automobile fires per year in 2006-2010. These fires caused an average of 209 civilian deaths, 764 civilian injuries, and $536 million in direct property damage.

Facts and Figures
-Automobile fires were involved in 10% of reported U.S. fires, 6% of U.S. fire deaths.
-On average, 17 automobile fires were reported per hour. These fires killed an average of four people every week.
-Mechanical or electrical failures or malfunctions were factors in roughly two-thirds of the automobile fires.
-Collisions and overturns were factors in only 4% of highway vehicle fires, but these incidents accounted for three of every five (60%) automobile fire deaths.
-Only 2% of automobile fires began in fuel tanks or fuel lines, but these incidents caused 15% of the automobile fire deaths.

(I really wish I had looked up those stats when everyone was saying that vehicle fires never happen after that journalist crashed into a tree.)


Fires happen ^ . Things tend to go badly when you ram through a concrete barrier and hit a tree. I would still feel perfectly comfortable driving one.

Do you guys notice a lot of them in your areas? They're insanely popular here.

Here's a Car and Driver vid for anyone not aware of them (Try not to drool):



Link To Fire Data

We will be discussing this awesome thread on ATS live! tonight.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here's an update on this issue:

U.S. opens Tesla battery fire probe

Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it is opening a formal investigation into 13,100 Tesla Motors Model S electric vehicles for battery fires — one month after it declined to do so.

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland told a congressional committee that the agency had seen some issues it wanted to investigate.

“The agency has opened a formal investigation to determine if a safety defect exists in certain Tesla Model S vehicles. The agency’s investigation was prompted by recent incidents in Washington State and Tennessee that resulted in battery fires due to undercarriage strikes with roadway debris,” NHTSA said in a statement.