Tesla shares drop momentarily after fire

Post by **Johny** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 16:10

http://www.news.com.au/business/compani ... 6732623186

Post by **coulomb** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 17:12

"Crews found that water seemed to intensify the fire, so they began using a dry chemical extinguisher."

Geez - was that a crew from the Marx Brothers* or from Fox News?

The newspaper or whatever associated with that news item seems to be rather sensationalist, just judging by the links on the right hand side.

* "I should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers!"

Post by **PlanB** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 17:14

Interesting, the model S battery pack is basically the whole floor pan so I don't understand the comments about the fire being confined to the front by the cars design?
Using the floor as the battery case is great for c of g but raises exposure to road debris I guess. Reminds me of the last Concorde crash, where metal on the runway punctured the underside of the wing.

Post by **BigMouse** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 18:01

This will no doubt be fodder for EV opponents claiming it as a safety issue. In reality, it's no different than if a petrol-driven car hit something in the road that caused a fuel leak.

Post by **Vectrix150V** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 19:45

The funnier thing is that Elon was offering to help out Boeing with their Dreamliner fires...

Post by **Johny** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 19:49

The thing that disturbs me (well many things do - this is just one) is that the trained firefighters initially sprayed water all over what was the most famous brand of electric car in the world.

Edit: added 'brand of'

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 19:50

All batteries can burst into flames given the right circumstances. The flame retardant top on the battery which directs any heat away from the passengers is a good design though.

Post by **Richo** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 20:43

Ah better to get the first one out the way and move on.
How often do you hear about the local busses catching fire.
No one remembers - no one cares.

Given that it happened 2 days ago the story of the old lady leaving her keys in the car that got stolen was more interesting obviously...

Post by **coulomb** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 21:05

jonescg wrote: All batteries can burst into flames given the right circumstances.

Um, I think you meant to say "All batteries except the ones in Weber and Coulomb's rollbar box can ...". Those cells immediately behind our heads... it's unthinkable. So surely they at least are exempt. In a sane world.

Oh wait...

Post by **Johny** » Fri, 04 Oct 2013, 21:28

coulomb wrote: it's unthinkable. So surely they at least are exempt. In a sane world.

Oh wait...

At least they aren't LiPo coulomb.

Post by **g4qber** » Sat, 05 Oct 2013, 13:52

http://insideevs.com/tesla-motors-issue ... el-s-fire/

What really happened.
Firefighters were following correct procedure.

Post by **coulomb** » Sat, 05 Oct 2013, 14:06

g4qber wrote: Firefighters were following correct procedure.

Which apparently *does* involve using water. This does surprise me still.

But thanks for the link. Good thing it was a Tesla, and not a petrol car.

Post by **offgridQLD** » Sat, 05 Oct 2013, 15:17

The first report I read yesterday was a little vague as to what was struck on the road and at what speed. It could have been a very substantial lump of metal. A lot of gas gars go up in flames every day for a host of reasons without a mention in the news.

Edit:A curved section that fell off a semi-trailer was recovered from the roadway near where the accident occurred and, according to the road crew that was on the scene, appears to be the culprit. The geometry of the object caused a powerful lever action as it went under the car, punching upward and impaling the Model S with a peak force on the order of 25 tons. Only a force of this magnitude would be strong enough to punch a 3 inch diameter hole through the quarter inch armor plate protecting the base of the vehicle

The Imiev also has the battery is hanging under the car in a box. All It has a plastic cover plate with a thin skin of sheet metal behind it and then the battery box its self that looks to be made out of a thick fiber reenforced plastic.

I designed my little lipo boxes for my recumbent trike so they can be quickly removed (2 second job) That way I have a fighting chance of saving the bike but only if a get some warning signals of a serious battery issue.

What gets me and others commented on it in the Utube video of the burning Tesla is. How did the man filming know it was a brand new car at the start of the video? You couldn't see the car then just flames.

How can you tell its a brand new car from this view? A little suspect.

Post by **Shirker** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 07:06

Tesla's blog says "quarter inch armor plate protecting the base of the vehicle". I'm uncertain what turns 6mm sheet metal into armour - is it just the intentional positioning betwixt projectile and thing being protected, or is there some treatment of the metal to make it specifically hardened for the task? (I assume Tesla uses aluminium underneath as throughout the model S body?)

So is there value in "armouring" the underside of battery boxes where road debris might impact at high velocity? I could be wrong, but my impression was most EV converters consider the underside of a battery box as a water-excluder more than a debris protector, with commensurate choice of materials...

If we assume the debris penetration risk is worth some investment, what would make good armour, especially when the EV converter's consideration of weight is factored in? Does some Kevlar lining - perhaps epoxied in place - make more weight-sense than lugging a 6mm thick sheet metal slab around, for similar penetration resistance?

Post by **coulomb** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 13:57

offgridQLD wrote: A lot of gas cars go up in flames every day for a host of reasons without a mention in the news.

Yup. We saw a burned out hulk blocking a lane on the way to Canberra. Looked like it was a fatal. We shook our heads and said "if only it was an electric".

Post by **coulomb** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 14:00

Shirker wrote: If we assume the debris penetration risk is worth some investment, what would make good armour,

I don't think it's practical to armour against something like this. It's a one in a million thing. It was some huge curved steel thing that just happened to fall in such a way as to become a missile, or at least that's the way that the Telsa people are painting it.

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 14:38

Funny enough driving home from the Sunshine coast late last Sunday afternoon we could see a orange glow on the side of the motorway. As we got closer we could see that is was actually a modern car on the other side of the motorway. The front 1/2 was fully in flames. Too the point where there was no stopping it. The drivers just standing there is shock watching.

I think something like 800 cars go up in flames in the US each day. That's just the ones that are reported. As in the fire truck comes out to put it out.

The media are just all over anything Tesla. It a bit like when some one gets eaten by are shark in Australia and the media are all over anything to do with sharks for a few weeks and some times there efforts to find something can be a bit silly..... Breaking news just in child has near miss with a man eating tadpole in a puddle.

Regarding the 6mm plate on the Tesla, it sure isn't steel due to weight. It would be aluminum at a guess. Fuel tanks are usually 1mm thick or under with perhaps a bash plate of 1.2mm - 1.6mm or so steel if your lucky. Most tanks are plastic now with a simple thin plate mentioned above protecting them.

Kurt

Post by **CometBoy** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 19:51

I had the good fortune to stop into the recently opened Tesla outlet in Zurich a few days before this incident. They have two vehicles available to test drive and a beautiful cut down display of floor pan assembly. They are taking orders for 50 Tesla models S at this stage. I was impressed to see the attention to detail and protection of the flat battery assembly. Stone Strickland from Palo Alto was there setting things up and I believe he is the man that will also be establishing things here in OZ if and when it happens.

Just some thoughts on quoting stats and comparing fires between ICE vehicles and Ev’s . I think the general public might view things more as a percentage of vehicles on the road? Just look sadly at the number of EV’s we know about that have gone up in smoke vs the very small numbers on the road. A few Volts, a couple of Blades, Lincvolt, some converted Plug-in Priuses (plural is?), a least one Tesla Roadster.... add others here....

In all (well most) of these fires we know the causes but a fire is a fire and the general public doesn’t give a stuff about the why it happened. Just that it did happen.

All very sad to see especially the Tesla S, such a well-engineered machine and such a rare accident. I think the media in the US has actually been fairly supportive of the incident. EV's in general over there seem to be viewed much more positively in the last year or so. And you see so many on the roads now. I especially liked the E-Smart being sold in Canada currently and they can't get enough to meet demand. Australia on the other hand....

Cheers
Bruce

Post by **PlanB** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 20:02

Just a hiccup IMHO. Wish I'd had the courage of my convictions & bought Tesla shares when they floated,I'd have enough for a model S now even with the blip caused by the fire.

Post by **CometBoy** » Wed, 16 Oct 2013, 20:31

Yes PlanB totally agree

Post by **Shirker** » Thu, 17 Oct 2013, 04:34

<gloat>I bought at $40

Now the key is to sell at the right time - something I have yet to master...

Post by **Adverse Effects** » Thu, 17 Oct 2013, 07:31

Shirker wrote: <gloat>I bought at $40
Now the key is to sell at the right time - something I have yet to master...

dude you bought Tesla shares at $40 ? score

i wanted to buy some at $90 but my brother (works with something to do with shares) said its peeked and not to bother because there going to crash

now there almost $200 arnt they?

i'll smack him in the head next time i am NSW visiting him

Post by **CometBoy** » Fri, 01 Nov 2013, 03:31

Ok so what about another crash and burn this week!

These Mexicans do it with style... And I’m just watching the last episode of Breaking Bad.

Have a listen to the sounds of the Tesla S exploding.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/se ... #continued

Another sad day for Tesla?

Bruce

Post by **offgridQLD** » Fri, 01 Nov 2013, 03:36

Looks like it was easy to put out.

Kurt

Post by **poprock** » Fri, 01 Nov 2013, 15:06

Re plural of Prius. Could be " prius " or if in a possessive sense;
" prius' " ? As Clive James said: " everyone wants to use the apostrophe but nobody knows how to "