Tesla follow the lead of Sony and Boeing

[Brian Ellis]

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2013/oct/tesla-fire.cfm

It didn't make the news here but it seems that a fire in a crashed Tesla S vehicle destroyed it, happily with no fatal outcome. It would seem probable that the crash cause an internal or external short-circuit of the battery housed in the front.

Note that petrol/gasoline and diesel fuel are also hazardous but cars are exempted from hazard placards for liquid fuels on the assumption that firefighters know of the danger which is not the case with electric cars containing hundreds of kg of Li.

To transport in Europe anything containing >1 kg Li metal, the outside container should be labelled:

European Labeling in Accordance with EC Directives
Hazard Symbols: F C
Risk Phrases:
R 14/15 Reacts violently with water liberating extremely flammable gases.
R 34 Causes burns.
Safety Phrases:
S 8 Keep container dry.
S 43H In case of fire, use dry chemical, soda ash, lime or sand. (Do not use water or foam).
S 45 In case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately (show the label where
possible).

The vehicle transporting the lithium (including lithium batteries) should have the following placards:
2013-11-02_142846.png2013-11-02_142913.png2013-11-02_142422.png

Does this apply to cars using (not transporting?) batteries?

[Dr Mordrid]

It did make the news. There are DOT regs for emergency responders, tow truck opetators etc. As regards LiIon and other EV batteries fire departments are trained in handling those fires.

Further, Tesla has a patent they're working to bring to market for a hybrid battery power system that would use a smaller LiIon and a large metal-air battery.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Tesla+(TSLA)+to+Develop+Hybrid+Battery+Packs+that+Could+Increase+Range+40%25+-+Analyst/8689599.html

[paulw]

I saw it on the news down here when it happened.

"A Tesla spokesman said the car caught fire after the driver ran over a "large metallic object" causing extensive damage to the front end of the car, but the incident saw Tesla shares fell 6.2 per cent to on the Nasdaq, their biggest one-day decline since mid-July."

The lemmings are pretty quick to sell their stock when it appears on the national news..

[dZeus]

I saw it on the news down here when it happened.

"A Tesla spokesman said the car caught fire after the driver ran over a "large metallic object" causing extensive damage to the front end of the car, but the incident saw Tesla shares fell 6.2 per cent to on the Nasdaq, their biggest one-day decline since mid-July."

The lemmings are pretty quick to sell their stock when it appears on the national news..

there's been a second one to catch fire since that event. Further more, it's not that surprising that investors... I mean speculators are eager to jump ship, as lots of stocks seem to be in a bigger bubble than the nasdaq during the dot com days at the and of the last millennium. Might not take much for their valuations to fall back to earth (maybe the FED stopping liquidity injections?)