Karl ☕️
LawprofblawgGuess how many Ford Pintos caught fire before they were recalled?
38 (27 deaths)
Guess how many Teslas have caught fire? 144 (44 deaths)
https://tesla-fire.com
Darrel Plant@lawprofblawg I'm going to guess that the number of Pintos sold by that point was a bit larger, as well.
🌻 Welcome Back 🌻@Scotter @lawprofblawg They recalled 1.5 million Pintos after 6 years of sales, Tesla says they’ve sold 3 million worldwide in about twice that long.
The Lone Apple 🍎@lawprofblawg Let's face it - when a mother of three dies in a fiery wreck, people get upset. When a rich bro behind the wheel of a penis replacement blows up, people go "Eh."
Jay Wolman@lawprofblawg what’s the ratio between cars in service and fires？
GESampson@lawprofblawg question how many Teslas are on the road as compared to Pintos?
Paranoid FactoidLet's get Nader to write "Unsafe at Any Charge"
john r red-horse@lawprofblawg
At least the Pinto had to be involved in a (rear-end) crash. The Tesla fires are spontaneous combustion.
At least the Pinto had to be involved in a (rear-end) crash. The Tesla fires are spontaneous combustion.
enmodo ⚛️ 🧬 🇺🇦 🍉@lawprofblawg there is the issue of causality though. Did the fire cause the deaths or would the people have died anyway? And let's see how often gas engine cars explode after a major crash - I believe I read it is substantially more than Teslas. But I don't have a citation for it.
PS. I'm not a Tesla owner or fanboy, just interested in statistics.
GrayBear@lawprofblawg when will we see the Tesla Files with all the email exchanges about combustible teslas
Tazor@lawprofblawg
Is anyone suing?
Is anyone suing?
bubbajet@lawprofblawg So… this is based on a Tesla report so take it with a grain of salt, but EVs (all EVs) burn at a much lower rate than ICE vehicles. Elon Musk, however, is a flaming bag of you-know-what. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1133254_fires-are-less-frequent-in-teslas-and-other-evs-vs-gas-vehicles
ChopinsHeart ⚛️ 
I can’t even muster up a comment yet, so horrific it went this far.
Katma@lawprofblawg
Ugh. Yet more evidence that nothing matters anymore
And a reminder to keep far away from Teslas (for multiple reasons)
Ugh. Yet more evidence that nothing matters anymore
And a reminder to keep far away from Teslas (for multiple reasons)
Eric Wedaa@lawprofblawg Yeah, but as much as I HATE to say this, it's apples to oranges here.
It was 38 fires, with 27 fatalities and 24 non-fatal burns,
--> resulting from Pinto rear-end collisions <--
This does NOT give the number of Pintos that caught on fire for other reasons.
I still hate Elon though, and would not buy a Tesla at this point in time.
John Mastodon@lawprofblawg inflation?
@lawprofblawg Also, That list of Tesla fires is suspicious to me.
Trash fire spreads to Tesla
Garage fire
MegaPack catches on fire at Victorian Big Battery (NOT a car)
Tesla rear ends parked fire truck
NOT ALL were car fires. And some of those car fires were suspicious anyways, including one high speed collision that would have destroyed ANY car.
I still hate Elon though.
Aviva Gary@lawprofblawg interesting indeed...
JonathanDalton@lawprofblawg We owned a Pinto. Light green. It was an awful car that only fire could improve.
1Mar𝒵ipan@lawprofblawg Wow. I had no idea that Tesla's present such a fire hazard. What are they charging them with... Tweets?
Fenix🔥 Resistance Starts NOW@lawprofblawg Teslas are bigger pos’ than Ford Pintos
Zoyx@lawprofblawg - Pinto numbers are rear-end collisions only.
M.S. Bellows, Jr.@lawprofblawg The inevitable "Fight Club" reboot will need to adjust to this reality.
minor1971@lawprofblawg another reason billionaires shouldn't exist.
John Chapman@lawprofblawg So if your electric vehicle catches fire, you are 3.8 times as likely to survive in a Tesla as in a Ford?
I think you need to give more information.
I think you need to give more information.
Casual Observer@lawprofblawg #tesla fire is not a bug, it is a feature.
Gary Krysztopik@lawprofblawg Not quite apples to apples. A better comparison would be the first generation mass-produced gasoline car because Tesla's are first generation mass-produced #EV's.
@garykrysztopik I'm asking a slightly different question. Whether there should be a regulatory response. Not whether Tesla is safer than Pintos as an empirical matter.
@lawprofblawg Sorry! The Pinto's were from rear-end crashes I think. Is there any trend with the Tesla's? Never looked into it. Looks like total number of cars is about the same - "On June 9, 1978, Ford Motor Company agreed to recall 1.5 million Ford Pinto". I think there's about 2M Tesla's?
@garykrysztopik Correct. I put that data somewheres earlier. The Pinto was from rear-end collision (and the company was aware of the defect). Not sure on the Tesla. But curious.
Olivetree@lawprofblawg
@kangaroo5383
Your comparison is unfair, the numbers for Pintos' fires are from common (known mechanical) cause only. Those Teslas' fire causes are not, they are total for everything, including being/having been in a hurricane. That's 16 fires/year (actually more because that number excludes fires not reported in news, but that's the number you use for your demand) for Tesla. How many for the Pintos? There are >100k car fires/year in the USA, surely 16 is the least of your worries.
@kangaroo5383
Your comparison is unfair, the numbers for Pintos' fires are from common (known mechanical) cause only. Those Teslas' fire causes are not, they are total for everything, including being/having been in a hurricane. That's 16 fires/year (actually more because that number excludes fires not reported in news, but that's the number you use for your demand) for Tesla. How many for the Pintos? There are >100k car fires/year in the USA, surely 16 is the least of your worries.
@olivetree @kangaroo5383 They weren't known at the time. They were actually concealed by Ford.
Also, I did not include other deaths apart from fires. Although that would have boosted the numbers.
The basic point was that its curious how far regulation hasn't come.
Agree there are more car fires, and maybe even if adjusting for age of car and other things we might get a clearer picture (maintenance, etc.) But Teslas are relatively new cars.
Sensational Gus@Sensational_Gus Yup. The stock drop isn't just Elon.
Ken Camper@lawprofblawg Criminal
WesDym@lawprofblawg I always warn against absolute numbers, so I calc'd it myself, and found that there was 1 fire for every 71K Pintos (roughly). For Tesla? 1:52K (roughly). That makes Tesla almost 38% worse.
@lawprofblawg
There was a crash in a small neighborhood in Houston where an owner was giving his friend a test drive. Cops never answered questions and some discrepancies in victims and fire. Tesla and investigators make sure information not released to the public. Won't know more until lawsuit and court, if then
There was a crash in a small neighborhood in Houston where an owner was giving his friend a test drive. Cops never answered questions and some discrepancies in victims and fire. Tesla and investigators make sure information not released to the public. Won't know more until lawsuit and court, if then
@lawprofblawg where is Ralph Nader?
RJD@lawprofblawg how many bmws, Audi etc?
Ffs.
Matt S@lawprofblawg
116 million US cars on the the road in 1978
289 million in 2021.
So that’s part of it.
But it is remarkable.
116 million US cars on the the road in 1978
289 million in 2021.
So that’s part of it.
But it is remarkable.
Feargal McKay 🚴@lawprofblawg How many e-bikes have caught fire because of their lithium batteries and how many have been recalled?