According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Tesla Model S electric car is a very safe vehicle. It scored five stars for safety during testing, the highest possible, and also drove away as the safest car they had ever tested. So why do they keep catching fire?
In the past six weeks, three of the cars have set on fire. With around 19,000 on the road, that’s a high rate, but you have to look at the circumstances surrounding the fires before jumping to any conclusions.
The Model S carries by far the largest amount of energy stored under its hood, with that energy being stored at the front of the car. In all three fire incidents, severe damage has been done to the front of the car.
In the first fire the Model S drove over a large metallic object at speed. That object pierced the underside of the car and battery units inside. The second fire saw the driver smash through a concrete wall and then hit a tree, again causing significant damage to the front of the car. And finally in the third fire, a tow hitch was run over, again damaging the underside front of the car and allowing a fire to start in the damaged batteries compartment. You can see the damage caused in the image above.
In all three cases the driver wasn’t injured and the fire looks to have been contained in the front of the car. So while these fires are happening, they aren’t injuring people, and in fact, the car is definitely doing a good job if you can walk away after hitting a concrete wall and a tree. In the fire involving the tow hitch, the driver believes the car actually saved his life.
With three fires so close together then NHTSA is investigating the vehicle and will determine if this is actually a vehicle safety issue or just some serious bad luck on the part of Tesla S owners. Even if it is deemed to be a vehicle safety issue, it sounds like additional reinforcing on the front underside of the car may solve the problem. The downside to that, however, is additional weight.