---
title: "The Digest: Tesla Batteries Are Catching Fire Hours After Car Crashes"
description: "According to an official report, a Tesla battery reignited twice following a deadly crash in Fort Lauderdale even though it was doused with water and foam."
date: "2018-06-26"
modified: "2018-06-26"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-battery-catching-fire"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Tesla"
tags:
  - "lithium ion battery"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# The Digest: Tesla Batteries Are Catching Fire Hours After Car Crashes

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BECB8F80-63FB-4505-9DC8-C34377DF81D3.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

**REPEATING RE-IGNITION.** In May, a driver crashed their 2014 Tesla Model S in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The crash resulted in the death of the driver, one of the passengers, and injuries to the other passenger. On Tuesday, the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) released [a report](<https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HWY18FH013-prelim.pdf>) on the accident.

According to the report, when the local fire department arrived on the scene, the vehicle's lithium-ion battery was not on fire. Still, they doused it with water and foam as a precaution. Later, while the department was loading the vehicle to remove it from the scene, the battery reignited. The battery reignited *again* at the storage yard. Tesla declined [*The Verge's* request](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17507254/tesla-crash-battery-fire-florida-ntsb>) for comment.

**A DISTURBING TREND.** This isn't the [first case](<http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/03/tesla_fire_video_nhtsa_can_t_investigate_model_s_battery_fire_due_to_shutdown.html>) of a Tesla battery bursting into flames, nor is it the only recent one. In March, a driver in Mountain View, California, died when his [2017 Tesla Model X P100D crashed](<https://futurism.com/officials-tesla-model-x-autopilot-killed-driver>) into a highway divider. According to a [NTSB report](<https://ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HWY18FH011-preliminary.pdf>), officials transported the remains of the car to an impound lot. About seven hours after the crash, the car's battery began giving off smoke, and five days later, it fully reignited.

Earlier in June, the battery in a Tesla Model S caught fire while the driver was cruising down Los Angeles's Santa Monica Boulevard. This fire was seemingly spontaneous — no crash involved. Actress Mary McCormack's husband owned that vehicle, and she [shared a video](<http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/18/technology/mary-mccormack-tesla-fire/index.html>) online of the enflamed vehicle.

**THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.** Though [experts say](<http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/companies/electric-car-fire-risk/index.html>) electric vehicles are less likely to catch fire than their gas-powered counterparts, when they *do* catch fire, those fires can be [more dangerous](<https://www.livescience.com/62179-tesla-fire-cleanup-danger.html>) due to the toxic fumes and emergency responders' lack of experience dealing with EV fires. Tesla has created a [document](<https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/2016_Model_X_Emergency_Response_Guide_en.pdf>) to guide responders through these emergencies, but figuring out a way to stop its batteries from spontaneously catching fire in the first place is probably a good next step for the company.

**READ MORE:** [Tesla Battery Reignited Twice After Fatal Crash in Florida: Report](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17507254/tesla-crash-battery-fire-florida-ntsb>) \[*The Verge*\]

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)