> a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down The thing that sticks in my mind is that Ford had some issues with their chargin

> a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down The thing that sticks in my mind is that Ford had some issues with their charging cable and had a big recall to substitute one with a (presumable 50 cent) thermistor. I guess there is a very general sense in which I associate electric cars with electronics where the tiniest software or hardware error can be catastrophic, whereas I expect that the scope of problems is easier to limit in a conventional vehicle. Like, gas powered cars rely heavily on electronics, but if a specific sensor or something goes out, they tend to have a "limp home" mode, and mechanical failures are planned for in the worst case. I observe that shipping a lithium ion battery is a big deal, considered hazardous. They have brought down aircraft in the past. So I would tend to discount people saying that they are only an issue in a collision, just because without particular numbers, I see people worrying about spontaneous combustion. Due to manufacturing defects, I guess.