A Tesla Model S, from Elon Musk's electric car maker, caught fire for no reason in California. Firefighters used about 23 liters of water to contain the flames.

On a California highway, a Tesla Model S caught fire “spontaneously” and, according to firefighters, the vehicle was traveling at the speed allowed on the highway, until the driver noticed strong black smoke rising through the cabin. Luckily, luckily the driver was able to pull over his car and get out without any injuries. The fire, however, continued to spread, consuming the entire front of the sports electric car.

More than 23 liters of water were used to put out the fire.

Firefighters needed to use special jacks to lift the Tesla car and expose the focus of the fire, which reportedly started in the batteries. The team of firefighters who responded to the incident stated that it was a complicated task, considering that it is the Tesla Model S, a vehicle that weighs more than 2 tons.

Special jacks were used to access the underside of the vehicle and cool the batteries, according to a post from the fire department.

After an hour of fighting for the flames not to spread further, it took the equivalent of nearly 23 liters of water to contain the fire.

To get an idea, a large fire in a common vehicle can be put out with approximately 2,6 liters of water, according to information from the fire department of the Sacramento Metro Fire District.

Fire and lithium-ion batteries are a combination that can do a lot of damage. In addition to containing many flammable materials, its cathodes release oxygen as they continue to burn, further fueling the fire. Not even the use of flame retardant foam has the capacity to smother the fire, according to firefighters.

Cause of Tesla electric car fire

For now, the reason for the spontaneous fire in the Tesla Model S battery is still unclear, and firefighters claim that it was not possible to identify any perforation or damaged part on the vehicle's floor. Usually, cases like this start with a strong knock, however, a short circuit or higher temperatures can also cause the combustion of an electric car battery.

It is important to mention that similar occurrences gained prominence in mid-2019. At this time, reports of Tesla cars catching fire for no reason forced the automaker to Elon Musk to release a software update that was intended to fix the problem once and for all. 

Tesla's autonomous system also causes problems

Between June 2021 and May 2022, Tesla electric cars caused 70% of autopilot-equipped vehicle crashes in the United States. In addition, over the years, 18 deaths involving these eletric cars.

The information came from a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US traffic regulator. The research analyzed 394 accidents involving cars with adaptive autopilot, 273 of which involved Tesla models.

The company has more than 800 semi-autonomous cars in circulation in the country and the most recent deaths generated by loss of control of vehicles equipped with Tesla's autopilot were in China, when a runaway Model Y ran over two pedestrians.

In the face of so many cases, even the name of the product, called Autopilot, is being questioned, as it would give customers the impression that cars can be piloted alone, when in fact they can only assist the driver.