DriverOne
Member
When you call 911, they will often ask for the VIN, so the fire department can recognize the burning car by its color.The first thing I do when I see a burnt vehicle is rush over to check out the VIN. I mean, who wouldn't?!
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When you call 911, they will often ask for the VIN, so the fire department can recognize the burning car by its color.The first thing I do when I see a burnt vehicle is rush over to check out the VIN. I mean, who wouldn't?!
Everytime some one makes a comment about Teslas catching fires, I post this link from the National Fire Prevention Agency. And, point out these lines.
"In 2003-2007, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 287,000 vehicle fires per year. These fires caused an average of 480 civilian deaths, 1,525 civilian injuries, and $1.3 billion in direct property damage annually."
Notice the numbers: 287,000 vehicle fires/year. And notice the date: 2003-2007. No EVs
Another interesting quote:
"On average, 31 highway vehicle fires were reported per hour. These fires killed one person a day."
Even so, it must have been some type of super extreme condition in addition to everything else known. I can only think of one way they could achieve that there given the description, and let's just say it reminds me of when I broke my toe one day when I was mad and kicked some snow REALLY HARD (it was not just snow).Must have been a hell of a rock hit. I assume this means bottoming out hitting the pack at high speed or something.
from Popular Mechanics: "The Shelburne Police Department tells Popular Mechanics that the owner of the vehicle took their Tesla onto the ice to go fishing, and that at some point during the expedition the car hit a rock. The car started making unusual noises, and shortly after that caught fire. No one was hurt."
Tesla Model X Burned Up on Vermont's Lake Champlain
Namely, the owner was in the vehicle, so theft/insurance fraud/vadalism is not the cause.
The extra protection Tesla added is for protection from loose objects on roadways. It deflects the objects, or embeds them in a sacrificial layer. It is not made to handle objects that are attached to the landscape. So a rock, either partly in the ground, or frozen to it, is not what the system is designed for. To off-road would require a full steel skid plate or such.But questions remain. As several have pointed out, the X is designed to protect the batteries against most physical damage. So it must have been a pretty hard or really unusual impact.
Finally, a legitimate news article about this Model X fire. The owner was ice fishing and struck a rock protruding from the ice while heading home. The rock caused physical damage to the battery case which likely caused both a short and disabled the active cooling system. This is consistent with other Tesla battery fires, nearly all of which were the result of serious physical damage to the battery.
Tesla Model X Burned Up on Vermont's Lake Champlain
There have been a lot of nefarious explanations batted around, including that the driver deliberately scuttled the vehicle. This would be highly unlikely in Vermont, unless the vehicle was stolen, which it wasn't. End of story.
Even this article is frustrating, though. The text makes sense for a Tesla fire: the car hit the rock, then started making noises and the fire started (or at least vented) some time later.
The headline says hit the rock and burst into flames, as if the flames appeared instantly like they do with a typical gas car fire.
It's been mostly commoditized for these online articles. There are a few exceptions, but the need to make each article sell itself (click) vs. selling a bundle of articles in a paper or magazine has been tough on the quality of journalism. Not to mention the public's aversion to long form pieces.The quality of reporting has come down across the board.,.
"The owner was ice fishing and struck a rock protruding from the ice while heading home."
How does a rock that big get in the middle of a frozen lake? Is this a magic floating rock?
The Shelburne Police Department tells Popular Mechanics that the owner of the vehicle took their Tesla onto the ice to go fishing, and that at some point during the expedition the car hit a rock. The car started making unusual noises, and shortly after that caught fire. No one was hurt.