Posted on 03/05/2019 11:06:07 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
SHELBURNE, Vt. Over the weekend, a Tesla Model X caught fire on the frozen surface of Lake Champlain in Vermont.
The fire happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday, and the fire almost completely consumed the vehicle.
A few news reports had mentioned the burned-up Tesla. So, we decided to walk out onto the lake and have a look:
WMUR-TV
Avery Thompson/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.
The specific cause of the fire is as-yet unknown.
People on Tesla forums who saw the crazy pictures began to speculate about insurance fraud or some other oddball explanation, but the most likely explanation would be a battery failure.
If damaged, lithium-ion batteries can rapidly discharge their stored energy in the form of heat, leading to an inferno.
The bigger the battery, the bigger the fire.
Teslas necessarily have giant battery back, so if the car suffers sufficiently severe impact, it can go up in flames -- as plenty of previous Tesla incidents have illustrated.
WMUR-TV
Avery Thompson/Popular Mechanics
For the time being, this Tesla's burned out husk remains on the lake, where Popular Mechanics photographed it on Wednesday afternoon.
No word yet on what will become of the charred remains, but it's hard to imagine someone freeing the metal from the ice and dragging it away, so we'd have to guess these remains are bound for the bottom of the lake once springtime melts the ice.
An ICE car is 30 times more likely ti self-ignite than an electric. But dam the facts ...
“Fire and Ice,” 21st century style.
Join Tesla and the Smokers in Ragnarok on the Ice!
Taking a Tesla ice-fishing. OK, sure.
I was sure these cars could float..
Sounds like Tesla doesn’t have an app for ice fishing yet. But they will soon!
It’s even more expensive when you are stranded on an outward bound ice flow. Then you have the DEQ, marine salvage, the coast guard and local first responders to pay.
Auto insurance doesn’t cover stupid.
How was that fire for the environment? What goes in the air when Lithium Batteries burn?
Over 150 Thousand car fires last year.
This lake is under jurisdiction of the Coast Guard, and the owner does have to get it off the ice. Someone who can afford this Tesla won’t have a problem paying for removal and cleanup.
I’d like to hear the conversation concerning the insurance claim.
About 500 car fires a day in the US and you are complaining about this one? LOL
Tesla drivers and ice fishermen are two completely different demographics. Weird.
I have no idea what you are talking about. What the heck is an “ICE” Car.
See my #26
Google it. You need the exercise.
The car hit a rock and caught on fire.”””
ON A FROZEN LAKE? Going ICE fishing?
Good. I was also thinking about the chemicals polluting the lake. I hope they fine the pants off this Bernie Sanders loving socialist fraud. Even jail time is good too.
Flyback transformer 2.0.
Being out on a lake would it be a Tesla Boil?
I can’t imagine the run time bill for one of those big red Coast Guard helicopters.
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