California fire crews use SIX THOUSAND gallons of water to extinguish burning Tesla Model S whose battery spontaneously combusted while driving down busy freeway
- The Tesla caught on fire while the driver was on Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova
- Fire officials said that nothing was wrong with the car before it combusted
- Approximately 6,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the blaze
Firefighters used 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish a Tesla Model S that spontaneously burst into flames on a busy highway outside of Sacramento on Saturday.
The driver, who was not injured, was on Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova at around 3pm when smoke started to come out from the front of the car.
Photos of the luxury car showed the vehicle completely totaled with the front end of completely burnt.
Officials responded to the scene with two fire engines and a water tender. The Metro Fire of Sacramento crew said that nothing was previously wrong with car.
Firefighters used 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish a Tesla Model S that caught on fire while the driver was on Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova
It is unclear what caused the blaze, but the federal government is also probing multiple Tesla self-driving crashes with some resulting in deaths.
Meanwhile, Tesla stock increased 33 percent last week after the company lost nearly 65 percent in market value in a tumultuous 2022, according to CNBC.
At the start of the year, the stock plunged nearly 14 percent after the company missed estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries despite shipping a record number of vehicles.
The horrific blaze wasn’t the first Tesla S fire that Metro Fire of Sacramento officials had to extinguish.
A white Tesla model burst into flames in a Rancho Cordova wrecking yard in June after the car had spent weeks sitting there after a collision.
Firefighters arrived at the wrecking yard to find the Tesla fully engulfed in flames. Each time the firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames, the Tesla’s battery would reignite the fire.
The fire department posted an Instagram video of the ordeal, saying that even when firefighters moved the Tesla onto its side to spray the battery directly, the car would burst into flames again ‘due to the residual heat.’
Eventually, the firefighters dug a pit near the Tesla and moved the burning car into it and then filled the pit with water, ‘effectively submerging the battery compartment.’
The technique worked, and the fire department was able to put out the fire with no injuries and 4,500 gallons of water used – about the same amount of water used for a building fire.
The driver, who was not injured, pulled over to the side of the highway while traffic passed
The Metro Fire of Sacramento crew said that nothing was previously wrong with car
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters dug a pit and used 4,500 gallons of water to put out the Tesla’s flames back in June
Fires generated from electric vehicles can be especially hazardous, as they generate over 100 organic chemicals including some potentially fatal toxic gasses like carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.
Tesla batteries may be at a higher risk of combusting due to the lithium-ion technology they use, which is a relatively new introduction to the auto industry. Lithium-ion batteries charge faster but can rise to extraordinary temperatures if damaged.
An increase in electric vehicle use over recent years has brought to light some of the risks associated with them.
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