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Right, but the batteries are more vulnerable to starting a fire in collisions than gasoline. I think there were cases of Tesla car batteries starting fire on im

Right, but the batteries are more vulnerable to starting a fire in collisions than gasoline. I think there were cases of Tesla car batteries starting fire on impact.

SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago
I hate to be "that guy" but... Do you have a citation for that, by any chance?
- rhinoceraptor 9y ago
  AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced.
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    > AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced. Ah. So it's like gasoline then? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8
    - rhinoceraptor 9y ago
      Gasoline still requires an ignition source to catch fire. Lithium cells can spontaneously ignite when they experience physical damage. I'm not saying electric cars are safer or more dangerous in the event of a crash (because I don't know the answer to that), just that batteries can and will catch fire.
- blinkingled 9y ago
  No, but it's fairly common knowledge that li-ion batteries are at fire risk on overheating and collision/impact(ref: Tesla fires). That's not to say Tesla didn't firewall the car enough to prevent fires from reaching in the cabin but it's still not a good idea to be locked in there when batteries are burning below.
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    It's pretty well known that gasoline is a fire risk... that's kind of how ICE engines work. Lithium-ion batteries come in a variety of different chemistries and some, e.g. LiFePo4, are not much of a fire risk at all. So, yes, if you puncture the lithium cells you may put yourself at risk. You're also at risk if you puncture a gasoline tank (worse if you're talking something like hydrogen). Note: Tesla does not, AFAIK, use LiFePo4 cells. Additionally one of the big challenges is that LiFePo4 cells are less energy dense than other lithium chemistries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMARDvMz62A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMARDvMz62A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p21iZVFHEZk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p21iZVFHEZk
- ce4 9y ago
  Here's footage of the burning Rimac Concept One when Grand Tour's Hammond crashed it [1]. A Tesla burned down after a crash in Austria last year [2] 1: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sDy-zdV2o https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sDy-zdV2o 2: https://www.golem.de/news/elektroauto-tesla-model-s-brennt-auf-oesterreichischer-autobahn-aus-1710-130711.html https://www.golem.de/news/elektroauto-tesla-model-s-brennt-a...
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    In what way is that more vulnerable to fire than a gasoline powered car in a wreck? Cars catch on fire all the time.

Right, but the batteries are more vulnerable to starting a fire in collisions than gasoline. I think there were cases of Tesla car batteries starting fire on impact.

SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago

I hate to be "that guy" but... Do you have a citation for that, by any chance?

rhinoceraptor 9y ago
AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced.
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  > AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced. Ah. So it's like gasoline then? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8
  - rhinoceraptor 9y ago
    Gasoline still requires an ignition source to catch fire. Lithium cells can spontaneously ignite when they experience physical damage. I'm not saying electric cars are safer or more dangerous in the event of a crash (because I don't know the answer to that), just that batteries can and will catch fire.
blinkingled 9y ago
No, but it's fairly common knowledge that li-ion batteries are at fire risk on overheating and collision/impact(ref: Tesla fires). That's not to say Tesla didn't firewall the car enough to prevent fires from reaching in the cabin but it's still not a good idea to be locked in there when batteries are burning below.
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  It's pretty well known that gasoline is a fire risk... that's kind of how ICE engines work. Lithium-ion batteries come in a variety of different chemistries and some, e.g. LiFePo4, are not much of a fire risk at all. So, yes, if you puncture the lithium cells you may put yourself at risk. You're also at risk if you puncture a gasoline tank (worse if you're talking something like hydrogen). Note: Tesla does not, AFAIK, use LiFePo4 cells. Additionally one of the big challenges is that LiFePo4 cells are less energy dense than other lithium chemistries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMARDvMz62A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMARDvMz62A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p21iZVFHEZk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p21iZVFHEZk
ce4 9y ago
Here's footage of the burning Rimac Concept One when Grand Tour's Hammond crashed it [1]. A Tesla burned down after a crash in Austria last year [2] 1: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sDy-zdV2o https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sDy-zdV2o 2: https://www.golem.de/news/elektroauto-tesla-model-s-brennt-auf-oesterreichischer-autobahn-aus-1710-130711.html https://www.golem.de/news/elektroauto-tesla-model-s-brennt-a...
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  In what way is that more vulnerable to fire than a gasoline powered car in a wreck? Cars catch on fire all the time.