When you’re shopping for a car, you probably don’t think to yourself, “OK, I need a car that won’t catch on fire,” because that is something that should never happen, period, no matter what you drive. Well, apparently Tesla didn’t get the memo. In November 2019, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a probe into Tesla’s batteries, citing an “alarming number of car fires that have occurred worldwide.”
Among Teslas’ many worrisome malfunctions, their propensity for going up in smoke is one of the most concerning. For some, the Tesla fires call to mind Samsung phones and other electronic devices that have been known to overheat, scorching consumers. Why do these cars keep catching fire, and what can injured Tesla drivers do about it?