The battery in a Tesla Inc. Model S car involved in a fatal crash in Florida last month reignited twice after firefighters extinguished the initial blaze that consumed the vehicle on impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. A Tesla Model S electric car that crashed and burned last month in Florida, killing two teenagers, was travelling 116 miles per hour (roughly 187 kmph) three seconds before impact and only slowed to 86 mph (roughly 138 kmph) as the airbags were inflated, according to federal investigators. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Department found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and extinguished the vehicle fire using 200–300 gallons (around 750-1,100 liters) of water and foam, the NTSB said. According to the report released Tuesday, the car's lithium-ion battery re-ignited twice after firefighters extinguished the flames, once as the car was being loaded for removal from the scene and again in a storage yard. “Upon arrival at the storage yard, the battery reignited again,” the report said, and was again quickly put out. The NTSB is examining several crashes involving Tesla TSLA, +2.70% vehicles, including a fatal crash in March near San Francisco that prompted questions about the safety of the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. Batteries like those used by Tesla and other electric cars can catch fire and burn rapidly in a crash, although Tesla has maintained its vehicles catch fire far less often than those powered by gasoline.
The US National Transportation Safety Board reveals the lithium ion battery on a Tesla Model S involved in a double-fatality crash in Florida reignited twice after initially being extinguished by firefighters. It also reveals the vehicle was traveling at 116mph when the accident occurred; Tesla has introduced speed limiters on their cars as a result.