Tesla Model S sets house on fire when wired directly to a powerline to charge it for free

While Tesla busted the myth that electric car fires are a more common occurrence than with gas-powered vehicles, they are still much harder to put out.

In its latest environmental impact report, Tesla shared the stats that for each million miles driven with its electric cars, only 7 of them catch fire for various reasons. For comparison, ICE cars ignite nearly 9 times more often on average.

When all the user manual guidelines are followed strictly, that is, as when someone veers off the factory directions, all bets are off. Like initiating a free Tesla charging session by hooking the electric car directly to the powerline.

That's precisely what firefighters in Tijuana witnessed when they were called for what was initially reported as a burning house. The abandoned house was apparently set ablaze by a Tesla Model S which had caught on fire in front of it.

EV lithium battery pack fires are very hard to put out, even with something like the multipurpose Firexo extinguisher that is rated suitable for Li-ion cells. As EV batteries keep reigniting, fire departments have to undergo specialized training or source dedicated tools that pierce the pack with high pressure nozzles to douse the cells directly.

The alternative is to simply dunk the car in water and let the flames peter out, and that's what the Tijuana firefighters did by building dirt berms around the car.

Upon closer inspection, however, they saw that someone had connected the Tesla Model S directly to the powerline for a free but illegal charging session, which is what probably made it combust in the first place.

Splicing the powerline or meter cable insulation, and wiring them for free electricity, is apparently a common sport in the country. The current and voltage variations this brings, however, may have been too much for the Model S battery and its circuits to handle.