--- title: "Tesla “Spontaneously” Bursts Into Flames While Driving Down Freeway" description: "It took firefighters 6,000 gallons of water to eventually extinguish the Tesla's battery which was determined to be the cause of the fire." date: "2023-01-30" modified: "2023-01-30" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-model-s-flames-freeway" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "lithium ion battery" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla “Spontaneously” Bursts Into Flames While Driving Down Freeway ![It took firefighters 6,000 gallons of water to eventually extinguish the Tesla's battery which was determined to be the cause of the fire.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Tesla Flambé Seemingly without warning, a Tesla Model S "spontaneously" burst into flames while cruising down a California highway, [according to the Sacramento Metro Fire District](). The Tesla was traveling at "freeway speeds," the fire district said in a [Facebook post](), until the driver noticed heavy black smoke emerging from the undercarriage. Fortunately, the motorist was able to pull over and exit the vehicle unharmed, but the flames continued to intensify, devouring the vehicle's front end. A crew of firefighters used jacks to expose the Tesla's underside and extinguish the lithium ion battery blaze. Putting it out, though, required considerable effort. Over the course of an hour, it took 6,000 gallons of water from three fire engines to subdue the flames because the Tesla's battery cells continued to combust. "For reference, a fully involved traditional combustion vehicle can be extinguished with a single fire engine's 700 gallon water supply," the district wrote. https://twitter.com/metrofirepio/status/1619537787270893569 ## Fire Sale Lithium ion battery fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish. In addition to containing combustible and flammable materials like graphite and electrolytes, their cathodes also release oxygen as they continue to burn, making **their** fires formidably self-sustaining. That's why using fire foam to smother the flames is ineffective, the district notes in a [tweet](). As of now, it's unclear why the Tesla battery spontaneously went up in flames, especially since, according to the firefighters, the vehicle was undamaged prior to the fire. Usually, a lithium battery fire is spurred by a collision, but a short circuit or excessively high temperatures could also cause a battery to combust. Tesla cars are no strangers to suddenly combusting. In 2019, after several headline-making reports of [parked Teslas catching fire]() seemingly without warning, the automaker [released a software update]() "out of an abundance of caution" to improve the batteries' safety. **More on Tesla:** *[Of Course Elon Musk Is Pushing The Cybertruck Back Again, What Did You Expect?]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()