Today I saw a late model ICE Honda alongside I-10 with fire pouring out of the engine compartment engulfing the whole car. Traffic was backed up for about 4 miles. I bet this will make headline news on Business Insider since they are so obsessed with the occasional fire in a Tesla. I see about four ICE fires alongside the freeways here in SoCal each year. I have never seen a Tesla on fire.
What Makes a Story Newsworthy? 1. Timing The word news means exactly that - things which are new. Topics which are current are good news. Consumers are used to receiving the latest updates, and there is so much news about that old news is quickly discarded. What Makes a Story Newsworthy?
Fires in Tesla vehicles are news due to the fact that their market share is about 2 percent. The same reason that Lambroghinis and Ferraris that burn also make the news. I thought that you wanted people to know about the uniqueness of the car? And part of that is the intense and unconventional fires Teslas produce and the danger that poses to first responders and the public. Take a pill. A Tesla fire IS news. A Honda fire is not.
Let's do the math. Say you drive every day on the freeway. You see four car fires a year. The "raw" odds that you will see a car fire is 4 out of 365. That is a 1 percent chance, on any given day of seeing a vehicle fire. And since Teslas are just 2 percent of US autos, your chance of seeing a Tesla on fire on a given day are 0.002 percent. And the probability that any one of the four fires you see each year will be a Tesla is 8 percent. Therefore, you should see a Tesla fire about once every 12 to 15 years. Your experience is about as expected.
That is not true. The last I looked Honda has about 2 million shares shorted. Granted that Honda shorts are only about 5 percent of Tesla's 40 million shares shorted, but the opportunity with Honda is just not as large as Tesla. For shorts, Tesla has a full house: crackpot, weed-smoking CEO with a hair job, new technology, risky endeavors, huge capital costs and little to no profit for any single year. Got my popcorn, enjoying the show.
Is that it? A secret conspiracy formed my thousands of people across the country to promote Tesla and only Tesla fires? Are Electrek, Insideev's, and other alternative vehicle sites in on it too because they also run the stories. Or could it be something more simple. Why Tesla Batteries Catch Fires, but Bolt and Volt Batteries Don't | Torque News "The Chevy Volt and Chevy Bolt's batteries are far safer than the Tesla batteries that bursted into flame in the latest incident. Tesla's Panasonic cells are made with thin metal casings so that the heat from one burning cell causes the neighboring cells to burst especially when exposed to air in an accident. The Chevy Volt and Bolt's battery cell casings are much thicker and help prevent breaking apart due to impacts or heat and are also covered with fire retardant. Yes, the batteries of Volt and Bolt are more expensive than Tesla's, Toyota's, Nissan's and Ford's, and has heavier battery weight per unit capacity but it has saved lives and properties. So far, there have been no battery fires from Volt and Bolt in any of the accidents that they're involved. With Tesla on the other hand, the more battery capacity it has, the more intense are the fires and more difficult to put out, although it is still rarer than fires from gasoline cars." And what about the lack of reports on fires from the Model 3, Prime, Energi, Clarity, Niro, Pacifica, et al. Is that more conspiracy or are they just not catching fire. What do all these cars NOT have in common with the S & X? The battery design.
plenty of pips have gone up in flames, even lift backs. i'm sure prime will follow. trust me, no one reporting the news of car fires knows anything about battery safety or construction. apparently, gm safety (think ignition switches) is not at the top of peoples list of ev benefits
Then why was there are recall in 2012 to stop the Volt battery fires? (Not sure why a 2018 article claims there were no Volt fires) Autotrader - page unavailable But still more in 2014...in the 12v battery! The surprising culprit behind a recent Chevrolet Volt fire | Torque News More: Third Fire Consumes A Chevy Volt Electric Car: Perspective Note: EV battery fires of any type are still rare. Mike
Yup, I know because I was Volt owner back then and I remember the news stories. Remember the calls for a congressional investigation? There was an outcry from Volt fans and others about these stories not being "newsworthy". Were they correct? Nope, that was news.
The only time I hear about those and other high end brand fires and accidents is when a famous person is involved.
