Six Tesla Model Ys Engulf In Flames On A Trailer In Turkey

A trailer carrying a number of Tesla Mannequin Ys grew to become engulfed in flames at this time at round 02:30 AM in Turkey (11:30 PM GMT), reported Turkish information company IHA.

The hearth broke out in considered one of six Teslas and unfold to all of the automobiles that have been being transported out of Istanbul. Nevertheless, the basis reason for the flames is unknown, and an investigation is ongoing. The motive force alerted the police and the hearth division promptly, as per the native publication. One witness stated that there was an explosion, and the rearmost automobile caught hearth first.

A video of the incident shared by an X person reveals the charred ruins of the six Model Ys, and a number of other firefighters scrambling to douse the flames.

In a single clip, a firefighter is seen speeding to extinguish the flame, however it continues to rage on, showcasing the challenges first responders face as a result of thermal runaway – a phenomenon the place lithium-ion battery cells enter an uncontrollable, self-heating and oxygen-creating state, and the pack continues to reignite till there’s nothing left to burn.

It took them an hour to extinguish the flames, and the autos have been reportedly left “unusable.” As a result of threat of thermal runaway, some corporations have provide you with options like submerging fire-ravaged EVs in huge water tanks for several hours to cool them down and prevent reignition.

Fireplace options firm Rosenbauer has one other reply to thermal runaway: extinguishing the hearth on the cell level by piercing the pack and injecting eight gallons of water per minute at 100 PSI. Nevertheless, it might be some time earlier than such options are efficiently experimented and broadly carried out.

Turkey has emerged as a promising marketplace for the American EV maker. Tesla delivered its first EV in Turkey, a Mannequin Y, in Could 2023, and the model seems to have garnered loads of curiosity. A Turkish reporter estimated 8,000 deliveries by the end of September 2023, and over 10,000 by October.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York Metropolis in September 2023, forward of the United Nations Common Meeting. Musk stated through the assembly that Tesla was already working with Turkish suppliers and that the nation was among the many main candidates for a future manufacturing facility.

If the native witness accounts are to be believed, the hearth emerged from one of many Teslas on the trailer – one other stark reminder that even the most important participant within the EV area hasn’t discovered a definitive reply to eradicate hearth threat. That’s to not say that EVs are extra susceptible to fires than fuel automobiles or hybrids.

US authorities knowledge suggests that gas cars and hybrids are far more prone to catch fires than EVs. In 2020, there have been 25 EV fires for each 100,000 autos bought, in comparison with 3,474 hybrid fires and 1,529 ICE fires, respectively. Though the share of EVs out there has grown since, and the newest knowledge may replicate a unique development.