The Tesla Car Fire in Washington: Setback for Electric Vehicles?
Author: Lee Ann Rush
On October 1, 2013 a Tesla Motors Model S electric car burst into flames on a highway exit ramp in Kent, Washington as the vehicle reportedly struck a large metal object in the road that had fallen from a tractor trailer. The impact damaged the Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack and caused it to ignite, destroying the car. The Tesla battery pack is a long, flat slab protected by reinforced metal and located on the bottom of the vehicle underneath the passenger compartment. Although there were no injuries in the fire, the immediate reaction to the incident among many investors and media outlets was to sound the death knell for Tesla Motors and cast doubt on the future of electric vehicles in general.
According to auto industry consultant Jason Vines, the Tesla fire, which was videotaped by a witness and aired on numerous television news broadcasts in the immediate aftermath, will probably raise even more doubts about the safety and efficacy of electric vehicles, which have yet to catch on with the driving public in general. “This could be another stake in the heart of electric vehicles,” said Vines. “It is inevitable that some people are going to say they are just not ready to go on the road.” This opinion was echoed by Karl Brauer, an auto analyst with Kelley Blue Book, who stated, “It’s a relatively innocuous occurrence to hit something in the road, but in this case there’s a fire, and [the fire is] difficult to put out.” Battery expert Ralph J. Brodd opined that the Tesla’s metal battery shield may not have been adequate to prevent the impact from causing the battery to short circuit and burn. “If you have an accident that jars the battery or … deforms it a bit, the wiring could go, and then you would have a short.”
Conversely, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, has often proclaimed the Tesla to be the safest car on the road. Indeed, the Model S had received glowing safety ratings and been praised by automotive publications for its performance and safety features. According to Musk, drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles are five times more likely to have their cars catch fire than are Tesla drivers. While statistics compiled by the National Fire Protection Association and the Department of Transportation appear to bear out Musk’s claim, it is also true that the research and development of lithium-ion batteries is a relatively new endeavor, and that further studies on the way road impacts may affect these batteries is necessary. According to researchers at MIT, physical impacts to lithium-ion batteries can cause increases in temperature, making the ability to “detect onset of electric short circuit,” even absent a fire condition, imperative. That makes perfect sense.
Time will tell whether Tesla Motors survives and prospers, but one thing is still certain: greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles have to be reduced substantially if we want to continue living on Earth as we know it.
