As of October 2024, there were over 431,000 Teslas alone in the Los Angeles area. That’s a lot of EVs outfitted with a lot of lithium-ion batteries that have complicated the fight against LA wildfires.
For as much good as electric vehicles can do for our air quality and in our ongoing battle against climate change, they do have one pesky problem that we haven’t quite been able to solve. When those batteries catch fire, they become a raging inferno nearly impossible to put out.
Videos by VICE
A Tesla-related car accident back in 2018 is a tragic example of this. The car crashed, bursting into flames and killing everyone inside. It took emergency responders almost 300 gallons of water and foam to extinguish the fire.
After everyone thought the blaze was subdued, responders were loading the Tesla for removal when the battery ignited again, entirely on its own.
