Barklikeadog
Active Member
I'm here because this occurred in my neighborhood and I had the opportunity to take photos, see the roadway, see the aftermath, and give the people here info they won't find on other news sites or blogs.
So there's that.
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2021 Model S Plaid/LR Fire
- Thread starter VikH
- Start date
So there's that.
Let's hope we do find out something. It would be a shame if the investigation was conducted and settled privately by the parties. The NHTSA does seem to be interested though, so something should get released eventually.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Roadshow in a statement it's aware of the fire. "The agency is in touch with relevant agencies and the manufacturer to gather information about the incident. If data or investigations show a defect or an inherent risk to safety exists, NHTSA will take action as appropriate to protect the public."
When explaining the prolonged delay in shipping the first refresh models, I recall Elon specifically mentioned something about ensuring the batteries are safe. Which makes me wonder what changes or challenges they were managing. Probably unrelated to this incident, but I’m sure Tesla engineering knows exactly what types of damage or manufacturing flaws could cause thermal runaway.
BrandonLive
MS LR (refresh) Blue/Black/21s/FSD
That’s great, but why are you attacking me and making it sound like I’ve said things I never said?
Your photos and insights are very welcome. I only pointed out that you cannot determine what actually happened based on visiting the scene days later. You can look for clues, but you were suggesting that by visiting the scene (before you even went!) that you could establish whether the car “self drove” or “rolled up hill” with no one in it, which I pointed out makes no sense.
Barklikeadog
Active Member
1. Knowing the road, I said the car was rolling uphill. (proven true, guy in it or not, it was going uphill)
2. I never said it self drove or that I could prove it. please don't quote things I haven't said.
3. I figured I would find a scorched area, instead I found damage/burns/stains on the road leading up to the final stop.
AFTER seeing that, I said, if someone told me a story that they jumped out of the car where the initial calamity began and it rolled to the final
stop, -and- another witness said this is what they saw, and you see what is happening on the road... then I would be inclined to believe that and
focus on WHY or HOW this could have happened.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
While we are on the subject of fires, sometimes people stick their foot in their mouth (I've done it too), or give snarky comments at the wrong moment.
I was at the GM dealer this morning having some routine maintenance done on the wife's car. While that was going on, I was walking around the lot looking at EVs when a sales guy walks up. He starts a conversation asking if I am interested in one of their EVs. I said I have Teslas and at some point in the future, I'll upgrade the oldest 2014 one to something newer, and probably get rid of the GM ice car as well for an EV.
So here comes the snarky comment. He said maybe I should consider a GM EV since "GM is so much better", and "I won't have to worry about killing myself in a car fire". That's when I pull out my phone and show him news this morning about GM warning Bolt owners to not charge their cars unattended and not park them inside!
What? I can't use my garage with it? And I'm wondering if GM thinks I'm going to stand next to the car and watch it for hours while it charges and if it catches on fire, should I jump over there and unplug it?
Ok, anyway, after I show the news to the sales guy and clearly he had no idea his cars had this issue and not up on the news, I ask him, "You have any other bright ideas about why I should consider your EV over upgrading my older Tesla?" As expected, he snubs his nose, turns and walks away without saying anything.
I was at the GM dealer this morning having some routine maintenance done on the wife's car. While that was going on, I was walking around the lot looking at EVs when a sales guy walks up. He starts a conversation asking if I am interested in one of their EVs. I said I have Teslas and at some point in the future, I'll upgrade the oldest 2014 one to something newer, and probably get rid of the GM ice car as well for an EV.
So here comes the snarky comment. He said maybe I should consider a GM EV since "GM is so much better", and "I won't have to worry about killing myself in a car fire". That's when I pull out my phone and show him news this morning about GM warning Bolt owners to not charge their cars unattended and not park them inside!
What? I can't use my garage with it? And I'm wondering if GM thinks I'm going to stand next to the car and watch it for hours while it charges and if it catches on fire, should I jump over there and unplug it?
Ok, anyway, after I show the news to the sales guy and clearly he had no idea his cars had this issue and not up on the news, I ask him, "You have any other bright ideas about why I should consider your EV over upgrading my older Tesla?" As expected, he snubs his nose, turns and walks away without saying anything.
thegruf
Active Member
Barklikeadog
Active Member
Yep.
I'm starting to lean towards manufacturing defect, Tesla at fault.
Reasoning behind this is their response. Over the years, when a negative story or crash occurs, and the driver is seemingly at fault,
they release any and all info asap. (Which ticks me off, I wouldn't want an automaker sending my personal driving info to the press)
But when it looks like they are in the wrong, they are slow, or won't release the data on the incident.
We all know Tesla doesn't care about disrespecting lawsuits or investigations, they release the data anyway.
Just my hunch, I drive or walk past the burned out area on a daily basis and was wondering what the latest is.
When I see that a car accelerated to an unsafe speed, went off the road, hit a tree, and burned, and then later find out that the driver was drunk... manufacturing defect is pretty low on my list of causes. I'm not disagreeing that Tesla might hold back incriminating info IF they had any, but in this case with a very short drive, quick fire, and it already being established that the data card in the car was burned, they may simply have no log data close enough to the crash on this one. There is evidence to support this as well: Elon did respond saying AP could not be used on that road and we know it wasn't. If he had actual logs to prove that, he would have likely said that the logs show AP was not being used. Instead he had to go by road conditions and how AP works, probably because they don't have logs due to the car crashing before the logs could be transmitted wirelessly.
Mike
Are you thinking about the crash in The Woodlands, Texas with the Model S? This story is of the Model S Plaid that caught fire in Pennsylvania.
Yes. Thanks for pointing out my mistake! I had both threads in my notifications so I didn't realize this was the "other" thread when I clicked from there.
Since I know where I am now...
I too wondered why there has been no insight on the spontaneous Plaid fire. I'm sure one reason could be that they found a defect but in my own mind, I've been speculating that it might be more hush-hush given that the driver is a known public figure. Both sides would seem to have some social media influence so if, for example, there could have been culpability on both sides, both sides might have just decided to sweep it under the rug.
Mike
BrandonLive
MS LR (refresh) Blue/Black/21s/FSD
Well given that they (twice?) had mysterious delivery holds on the S for “special inspections” (or whatever vague reasons different people were given), I think it’s entirely possible they found an issue affecting some % of vehicles and went and inspected the remaining ones waiting to be delivered to make sure they didn’t have the same issue.
And/or they devised a software update that corrects, mitigates, or identifies the problem before it gets to that point.
This is of course only speculation, but that’s all we have to go on.
And/or they devised a software update that corrects, mitigates, or identifies the problem before it gets to that point.
This is of course only speculation, but that’s all we have to go on.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
No doubt, this thread is filled with 8 pages of speculation and not a lot to go on. But I think not enough attention has been paid to the fact that the person who was driving the car just happened to work for a firm that had shorted TSLA and the fire happened on June 30th. Just a few days earlier, TSLA had shot up from $620 to over $680 right before the fire. That's a powerful and painful move if your firm is short TSLA. We also know the guy hired a sports celeb attorney who immediately contacted the press saying how scary this was for his client. The media did what we expect of the media and it was widely reported. Then, not long after, radio silence.
This is speculation (like the rest of this thread) but doesn't anyone else find it strange that the first Plaid that caught on fire just happened to be driven by a guy who works for TSLA short sellers? And the fire happened the week after TSLA shares had a powerful move upward and was threatening to go higher? This is painful if you have a short position because you know you need to cover at some point and you need the price to get knocked down to exit the position without losing your shirt. Who sells Tesla short in 2021? You would have to be missing a few marbles! That's right, dumb people!
There are a lot of fishy things about this story besides that the driver worked for TSLA short sellers. Why did he leave the scene? Why did he retrieve the burned hulk from the impound yard instead of just asking them to preserve the evidence? Generally people do this kind of thing if the evidence would incriminate them, not if it would help them. The whole story is just weird and doesn't make a lot of sense. I wouldn't be surprised if his firm covered their TSLA shorts not long after the media circus and this whole things just dies and goes away. It has served it's purpose.
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