![\"Tesla](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tesla-p90-d-in-flames-800x400-1.jpg\" "\\"tesla-p90-d-in-flames-800x400.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\nIn principal I like Electric Vehicles.<\/p>\n
From a user perspective, I don\u2019t like the range issues, I don\u2019t like the time to recharge, I question the reality of their \u201cGreen\u201d status, and I especially don\u2019t like the expense to purchase one.<\/p>\n
Lately I\u2019ve been noticing articles describing fires where the vehicle appears to spontaneously start burning.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re old enough, you may remember that most car fires seen in the summertime were VWs. This was a simple maintenance issue. If you didn\u2019t pay attention to the oil level in the engine, then tried to fly down an LA freeway in 100\u00b0F temps, the engine block could catch fire. Folks who had their VW bug catch fire would almost always have time to get out of the car, and the fire dept would put the fire out in just a few minutes. Any vehicle fire is a big deal, especially if it happens in an area prone to wildfires.<\/p>\n
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My concern is that the EV fires often can\u2019t easily be extinguished. Once compromised, the batteries continue to expose more lithium to the atmosphere which feeds the fire. Even cooling down after the initial cells that burned are extinguished, the surrounding battery cells can continue to melt. Then the cycle repeats.<\/p>\n
There are multiple videos of Teslas bursting into flames while parked. One consistent thing I noticed in those videos is what looks like a torch blowing several feet away from the vehicle. This torch in all the videos I\u2019ve watched, show up on the driver\u2019s side of the vehicle between the driver\u2019s door and the wheel.<\/p>\n
One video shows a Tesla beginning to burn in a parking garage parked next to an Audi. I\u2019d imagine that the Tesla\u2019s insurance carrier wasn\u2019t thrilled about having to cover a Tesla and an Audi. Other videos are available that show a Tesla that had already burned, been extinguished, and towed to an impound or junkyard lot, spontaneously reigniting the next day.<\/p>\n
There is a report of a Tesla catching fire, shorting out the electronics and refusing to unlock the doors. The driver was trapped inside the vehicle at the time. Fortunately, a passerby found a handy brick to shatter the window with.<\/p>\n
All of these incidents are concerning. Thus far, they\u2019re few in number.<\/p>\n
My concern is the increasing number of people driving Teslas in my community. We\u2019re a mountain town, we are surrounded by forest, with the drought in California, the trees and brush are very dry. A careless cigarette or spark can cause a blaze that spreads very rapidly.<\/p>\n
What happens when a Tesla, a Jaguar, or any of the other EV vehicles on the road catch fire in a driveway or wooded neighborhood?<\/p>\n
Granted the same concern exists for a standard gas car, motorcycle, dirt bike, or quad runner. However, in all those instances the fire department can throw water on the whole mess and that\u2019s the end of it. With an electric vehicle, that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n
What happens if the electric vehicle catches fire again while it\u2019s being towed out of the area? Now you\u2019ve got a torch literally being driven through a forest. If there\u2019s already a brush fire being fought where the EV originally caught fire, resources are committed to that location. Then you have the same vehicle cause another fire a mile or two away because it flared up again?<\/p>\n
How are the insurance companies going to handle an event as described? Does the EV owner\u2019s auto insurance cover an entire neighborhood being burned?<\/p>\n
Is this why auto and homeowner policies are rising so fast? Some insurance companies are already refusing to write homeowner policies in California due to the increased brush fire hazard.<\/p>\n
They did the same thing years ago with earthquake policies. Now everyone has a shitty earthquake policy administered by the State of California. I say shitty, because the maximum payout is far less than the payout I had when my insurance company sold earthquake insurance. The California max payout wouldn\u2019t begin to cover repairs to my home. I\u2019d lose my home, or be forced to remortgage or sell at a substantial loss, and the payout from the state wouldn\u2019t make a downpayment on a new home. For all I know, California might find a way to take taxes out of the payout too.<\/p>\n
Can a community legitimately prevent EVs from being used within hazardous fire zones?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In principal I like Electric Vehicles. From a user perspective, I don\u2019t like the range issues, I don\u2019t like the time to recharge, I question the reality of their \u201cGreen\u201d status, and I especially don\u2019t like the expense to purchase one. Lately I\u2019ve been noticing articles describing fires where the vehicle appears to spontaneously start … <\/p>\n