Tesla Model S Fires Create an Overreaction

The three recent Tesla Model S fires have resulted in some overreaction regarding the safety of electric vehicles.
By: PluginToday.com - Electric Vehicle Reviews
 
Jan. 12, 2014 - PRLog -- The media’s extensive coverage of each fire has caused confidence in the safety of the Model S and electric vehicle technology in general to be negatively affected, perhaps unfairly.

So far, there have been three Model S fires, and each fire has received extensive media attention although there have been no injuries or deaths resulting from the fires. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla has had to routinely defend his vehicle since the first fire, reminding the public that the Model S is still one of the safest vehicles on the road today. In a somewhat related matter, Tesla announced in early January 2014 that it will be sending new wall charging adapters as part of a recall. The adapters were reported to over heat and smoke; however no fires were ever related to the adapters. The new adapters will have a feature to turn off in cases of overheating.

No One Injured in the Three Fires

An important consideration is that no one was injured in any of the three fires, and the fires were localized to the front compartment of the vehicle and never reached the driver’s cabin due to the effective safety design and firewalls. The Model S has averaged a rate of approximately one fire for every 8,000 vehicles while traditional gasoline vehicles have about one fire for every 1,300 vehicles.

Telsa Model S Received a 5 Star Rating

The Tesla Model S received a 5 star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in August of 2013, and the vehicle set a record for being the least likely to result in an injury to its occupants compared to every other vehicle in the United States. There are several reasons why the Model S was rated so highly, including the fact that it does not have a gasoline engine, is equipped with a large crumble zone, modern safety features, and a smaller engine than gasoline vehicles.

Lithium Ion Batteries Have a Fire Risk

Unfortunately, lithium ion batteries have a fire risk no matter what type of vehicle they are used in. Lithium ion battery fires have been reported in other electric vehicle models, airplanes that use them, and electric motorcycles. Lithium ion technology is currently the best for electric vehicles, but it is not a zero risk option unfortunately. Tesla has done everything in its power to reduce the risk of injury from a battery fire in the Model S. In spite of 4 deaths per week on average due to gasoline vehicle fires, gasoline cars are still driven on a regular basis, and the Model S so far has had no injuries at all resulting from fires.

Tesla Made Recent Efforts to Reduce Risk of Fire

So far, recalls have not been necessary for the Model S. The NHTSA reaffirmed that the Model S is still one of the safest electric vehicles on the market, and it opened an investigation into the fires last November. Tesla recently released new wall charger adapters to reduce overheating risk and upgraded the vehicle’s suspension to further reduce its fire risk.

Musk also mentioned that negative reactions to the recent Model S fires could unfairly affect the global public’s confidence in electric vehicle technology. So far it seems that any overreaction to the Model S fires has been largely unjustified. As long as the Model S retains a higher safety rating than virtually any other vehicle available with a far lower fire injury risk than gasoline models, there is no reason to doubt its designation by the NHTSA as one of the safest vehicles ever made.

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Tags:Electric Cars, Tesla Fires, Tesla Fire, Electric Car, Tesla Model S
Industry:Automotive, Environment
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