Ever since battery-powered electric vehicles become more than just an oddity somebody had built in a barn and somebody else was crazy enough to say it was road legal, people feared what would happen if (or rather when) it would catch fire.
To be perfectly honest about it, they were more afraid of EVs catching fire more often than other vehicles, and that early Model S that burned to a crisp in Norway did nothing to ease their worries. However, if the data presented by the battery expert in this clip is accurate (and he looks like the kind of man who would keep his mouth shut if he didn't know what he was talking about), almost 250,000 cars catch fire on average every year in the United States. That puts EVs are way behind in the statistic.
Yes, having a battery pack onboard does mean the vehicle will behave differently in case of fire, but it doesn't make it more likely to get into that situation. And while a punctured gas tank and a spark don't equal kaboom - as the father-and-son pair that host this clip suggest - they do make for a pretty inflammable mix.
Adding to the list of things that needlessly get destroyed for YouTube fame, these two proceed to mistreat a brand-new Tesla battery pack as badly as they can. First off is the father's change to show off his bow and arrow skills by pulling shooting a metal-tipped arrow straight at the cells on the edge.
With nothing happening - other than a slightly disturbing sizzling noise coming out of the black hole left after the arrow was pulled out - they proceed to throw the pack off the roof of the house. The impact with the asphalt on the driveway leaves a mark, but the battery pack holds its own.
It's only after the second attempt that it finally breaks, spilling some of the 18650 battery cells on the ground. That's when the medieval-looking ax suddenly comes in, but it too requires several short swings to cut cleanly through the cell.
The sectioned battery shows some acid boiling inside and dripping away, but still no fire. At this point, you're probably already dialing the child protection number to have this kid removed from his mad father's care for his own sake. Well, they do say they did all of this under close supervision from people who know what to expect, and there were probably a few fire extinguishers behind the camera, so you can put the phone down, but keep that mortified expression on your face.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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