Posted on 10/03/2013 5:48:56 PM PDT by logi_cal869
Yesterday, a Model S collided with a large metallic object in the middle of the road, causing significant damage to the vehicle. The car’s alert system signaled a problem and instructed the driver to pull over safely, which he did. No one was injured, and the sole occupant had sufficient time to exit the vehicle safely and call the authorities.
Subsequently, a fire caused by the substantial damage sustained during the collision was contained to the front of the vehicle thanks to the design and construction of the vehicle and battery pack. All indications are that the fire never entered the interior cabin of the car. It was extinguished on-site by the fire department.
The Regional Fire Authority of Kent, Washington, issued a report on the incident, obtained yesterday by the International Business Times.
That document indicated that the car's lithium-ion battery pack was on fire when firefighters arrived, and that spraying water on it had little effect.
When the firefighters switched to dry chemical extinguisher, they could suppress the fire--but they had to puncture numerous holes into the battery pack to extinguish it completely.
The lithium-ion battery pack of the Tesla Model S sits under the car's floorpan, stretching the width of the car and essentially from axle to axle.
A 2011 fire that occurred in in the battery pack of a wrecked Chevrolet Volt several days after the car had been crashed in a NHTSA test generated enormous media coverage and even a Congressional hearing.
The cause was later determined to be that wrecking-yard personnel had not de-energized the battery pack, which is the standard safety procedure for any wrecked car with a high-voltage battery.
The NHTSA later issued a report saying the Volt was as safe as any other car, and "no discernible defect existed" in the range-extended electric car.
Chevrolet also offered an optional upgrade to the battery pack to avert fluid leakage; few Volt owners took advantage of it.
Meanwhile, Tesla stock fell from $193 on Tuesday to $180 yesterday amidst coverage of the fire.
Deutsche Bank analyst Dan Galves issued a report suggesting that the fire didn't change the company's fundamentals as an investment opportunity.
The car was totally destroyed.
gas burns too
Imagine had it collided with another car...full of children.
My gas cars over 35 years have hit things on the road and never burned.
I sat in a Tesla yesterday. Quoting the housewife being showed a ship model in Napoleon Dynamite “I want one”. What a nice ride!
be smart, you know these cars require special handling in crashes over a typical gas car.
I’d love to try the Model X in my area. A quiet 0-60 in 5 seconds! Alas . . . I can only dream.
Glad to see you are still kicking. Been 10 years since the big So. California fires, and you were a great help for many people back then.
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