No One Seems to Care That Electric Vehicles Are Catching Fire

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Electric vehicles, and the technology surrounding them, are all the rage. Everyone loves to talk about rising sales and a greener future. Yet for all that attention, there seems to be very little concern about safety.

This week, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected a 2019 petition to open a formal investigation into Tesla Inc.’s battery-management software, according to documents posted on the agency’s website. Certain Tesla vehicles that received an over-the-air system update, or wireless delivery, were defective and caused fires in five vehicles, according to the petition.

The agency’s denial noted that none of the fires were related to fast charging in the U.S., unlike those that occurred elsewhere. It added that there hadn’t been any incidents globally since May 2019. “It is unlikely that an order concerning the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect would be issued due to any investigation opened as a result of granting this petition,” it said. The petition referred to fires in the U.S., China and Germany.

The issue here isn’t just what happened to those five Teslas – there are several other instances of electric cars that have gone up in flames. It’s that regulators don’t appear to show an interest in investigating all possible outcomes and preparing for new scenarios when battery-powered vehicles catch fire. That’s despite the fact that this technology is being aggressively pushed by lawmakers and companies, and chased by billions of investor dollars.

Unfortunately, fires and recalls happen frequently in the auto industry. But what we’re dealing with here isn’t a faulty switch or seat belt or airbag. The issues addressed in the petition pertain to the core technology of new-age