Photo: Facebook / Highway to Hell
Because full electric vehicles are still the “minority” on the automotive market, incidents involving them or caused by them tend to get more play in the media and on social platforms than hybrid or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The latest is a good example in this sense.
Lucid is a newer arrival on the EV market, but its extended range, impressive performance, and solid feedback have often positioned it as a “Tesla killer.” Lucid Motors never invited the rivalry, but it does welcome the comparison because both companies strive for the same goal, that of cleaner transportation, albeit on different segments of the market.
Lucid Motors makes luxury EVs, and the most illustrative example is their most expensive and exclusive model in the lineup, the Air Dream Edition, which retails for $170,000. The performance matches the price: 1,080 hp, 9.9 seconds to run a quarter-mile (402 m), a 520 miles (837 km) EPA range, and only 520 units to be built worldwide, all spoken for.
Make that 519 because one Air Dream burned down to the ground in a “mysterious” fire last weekend in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. We’re back to square one about how EV incidents, whatever their cause, tend to get more attention than ICE incidents. EV fires, in particular, do that, even though ICE fires are more common. With EVs, it’s not the frequency of the fires but the difficulty of putting them out that matters.
Word of this particular fire first popped up on Facebook, with a report noting that it took first-responders four full hours to put it out because the Air’s battery kept reigniting (hat tip to The Drive). The wreck had to be towed away, placed into a container, and doused down. The Air wasn’t traveling under its own power and was not charging, as far as we know. It was sitting in the bed of a carrier truck, which was also torched. Moreover, a nearby building was damaged by the flames, as well.
Based on photos made available online, the Air was a rare Dream Edition, and it was completely destroyed. The towing truck was also damaged almost beyond recognition, so the most important aspect to note is that no one was injured.
Because EVs tend to be politicized or, at the very least, divide opinion, Len Devanna, Lucid’s head of digital experience, addressed the incident on social media. He said an investigation is still underway to determine the cause, but the first clues point to the fact that the blaze started in the engine bay of the towing truck and was only made worse by the Air’s battery pack.
In the end, regardless of what caused the fire, a $170,000 luxury car, a truck, and a trailer were lost.
Lucid Motors makes luxury EVs, and the most illustrative example is their most expensive and exclusive model in the lineup, the Air Dream Edition, which retails for $170,000. The performance matches the price: 1,080 hp, 9.9 seconds to run a quarter-mile (402 m), a 520 miles (837 km) EPA range, and only 520 units to be built worldwide, all spoken for.
Make that 519 because one Air Dream burned down to the ground in a “mysterious” fire last weekend in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. We’re back to square one about how EV incidents, whatever their cause, tend to get more attention than ICE incidents. EV fires, in particular, do that, even though ICE fires are more common. With EVs, it’s not the frequency of the fires but the difficulty of putting them out that matters.
Word of this particular fire first popped up on Facebook, with a report noting that it took first-responders four full hours to put it out because the Air’s battery kept reigniting (hat tip to The Drive). The wreck had to be towed away, placed into a container, and doused down. The Air wasn’t traveling under its own power and was not charging, as far as we know. It was sitting in the bed of a carrier truck, which was also torched. Moreover, a nearby building was damaged by the flames, as well.
Based on photos made available online, the Air was a rare Dream Edition, and it was completely destroyed. The towing truck was also damaged almost beyond recognition, so the most important aspect to note is that no one was injured.
Because EVs tend to be politicized or, at the very least, divide opinion, Len Devanna, Lucid’s head of digital experience, addressed the incident on social media. He said an investigation is still underway to determine the cause, but the first clues point to the fact that the blaze started in the engine bay of the towing truck and was only made worse by the Air’s battery pack.
In the end, regardless of what caused the fire, a $170,000 luxury car, a truck, and a trailer were lost.
Since I've seen it mentioned, we're aware of a weekend incident near Bridgewater, MA involving a truck transporting a Lucid Air. Initial report suggests the fire originated in the engine compartment of the truck during transport. We await the formal report from local authorities.
— Len Devanna (@LenDevanna) April 26, 2022
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