This time, the spontaneous combustion of an electric vehicle was not limited to just one “victim.” According to The Washington Post, in the garage of a married couple, Yogi and Carolyn Windum, a Tesla Model S (in the S 85 modification, 2013 model year) caught fire for unknown reasons. After some time, explosions followed the fire, then the blaze spread to another Tesla Model S parked nearby, and after that, it engulfed the entire structure.
The couple managed to escape only by a miracle – they woke up to the sound of the alarm and managed to leave the house. At the moment the car caught fire (which happened around half past five in the morning), Yogi received a notification on his phone that the car's charging had been interrupted. That is, the car ignited directly during “refueling” – firefighters obviously assume that the cause of the incident was a breakdown/defect in the battery thermal management system.
Yogi noted that due to the fire, the asphalt near the garage became so hot that it was impossible to walk on it.
In comments to the media, the Windums stated that after what happened, they want nothing to do with electric vehicles. The couple said that Tesla showed indifference to their tragedy: the burnt-out cars waited for several days for the company's specialists to determine the causes of the incident, but they never showed up. The compensation the Windums received from the insurance was spent on buying a gasoline Audi.
It should be noted that currently, several dozen cases of spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles have been recorded worldwide, not only Teslas but also other brands (Hyundai, Chevrolet, Nissan, Nio, etc.). Most of the incidents occurred precisely when the cars were charging. Manufacturers are solving the problems in two ways – by replacing fire-hazardous batteries or updating software that regulates the cooling temperature of the battery.
