A very sad mishap happened to the owner of a Tesla Model S. His car was obviously burnt down overnight. But surprisingly, the battery did not ignite, contrary to what we can fear from lithium ion batteries.
Partly because of the spontaneous combustion problems of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, lithium batteries have a bad reputation. Many fear that electric cars will become real dangers in the event of an electrical problem, lithium would ignite instantly.
Tesla cars are 9 times less prone to fire than the national average
However, electric cars seem to be more resistant to fire than one would expect. The Youtuber Bjorn Nyland shows images of the mishap that happened to the owner of a Model S. While he was sleeping peacefully, the Sentinel surveillance system on board his Tesla sent him numerous alerts at 4 a.m. His phone was in silent mode, he heard nothing.
When he woke up, he went to where his car was parked to discover one of the traces of a fire. The Mercedes parked beside it also burnt to crisp. From the photos provided by the insurance company, it can be seen that the vehicle burned to a large extent, particularly the rear seats. This suggests that it could be an arson attack. A person could have broken the rear window and set the vehicle on fire to remove all traces of the surveillance videos.
What is surprising is that the battery has remained absolutely intact. Protected from the heat by its low positioning and by the hydraulic cooling system it carries, it has withstood the fire very well. This confirms Tesla’s figures which show that the brand’s cars are 9 times less affected by fires than the American national average. We already knew that they were less stolen and that the Autopilot greatly reduced the risk of accidents.
