Tesla Vehicle On Fire Required 40 Times More Water Than Gas-Run Vehicles, Say Firefighters

Firefighters in Texas said that a Tesla Inc TSLA-made vehicle required 40 times the normal water to put out a fire when compared to a gas-powered vehicle

What Happened: “Normally a car fire you can put out with 500 to 1,000 gallons of water, but Tesla’s may take up to 30,000-40,000 gallons of water, maybe even more, to extinguish the battery pack once it starts burning and that was the case here,” Austin Fire Department Chief Thayer Smith said, as per the Independent.

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Smith referred to an incident dating back to Aug. 12  in which a Model X electric SUV smashed into a traffic light in Austin and erupted into flames afterward.

2600 Exposition, Tesla involved in collision with fire extending to awning of gas station. Fire under control. Crews working cool burning batteries. pic.twitter.com/2etyUkN3vb

— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) August 12, 2021

The fire chief explained that since the battery pack in the vehicle is under the frame “it makes it hard to get to. Plus, once it’s burning, they’re extremely hard to put out – they’ll reignite.”

Why It Matters: This month the Elon Musk-led company said in its 2020 impact report that fires in its vehicles are 11x less likely than other vehicles in the United States.

The automaker said it was continually working to improve the safety of its cars including modifications to battery chemistry so as to lessen the fire risk and maximize fire containment.

An installation of a Tesla Megapack — an industrial-sized energy storage solution — caught fire in Australia earlier in the month.

In April, a crash in Texas had led to the death of two persons and subsequent fire and in the same month, an EV made by the company caught fire in China resulting in one death.

The fire caused in the April incident reportedly took four hours to extinguish and involved a Model S vehicle that crashed into a tree.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed 2.98% lower at $665.71in the regular session and fell almost 0.4% in the after-hours trading.

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Photo: Courtesy of Tesla