Tesla’s Elon Musk predicts an upcoming decline in reports of fires against electric cars
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is no stranger to dealing with negative publicity against electric cars. After leading Tesla since the original Roadster day, Musk knows how challenging it is to go against the story that electric cars are dangerous, unreliable and prone to catch fire.
Recently, however, Musk stated that he believes reports covering fire incidents with electric vehicles are about to see a significant decline. This, according to Musk, is partly due to the fact that large car companies that invest heavily in advertising – such as General Motors and Ford – now make electric vehicles themselves.
“Now that the big car advertisers are making electric cars, you will see far fewer articles about electric cars that catch fire. It is not surprising that cars with internal combustion engines tend to burn on the outside as well,”[ads1]; says Musk wrote in a post on Twitter. The CEO commented on a study that showed that electric cars catch fire much less frequently than combustion cars and hybrid cars.
According to the study, which involves an analysis of data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and recall data from the authorities from Recalls.gov, the United States sees 3475 hybrid fires, 1530 gas-fired fires, and 25 electric vehicle fires. , for every 100,000 vehicles sold.
One could argue that Musk’s comments come from a place of experience. After all, Tesla has made a name for itself as a company that does not spend a single dollar on traditional ads. This meant that entities whose businesses are helped by advertising, such as traditional news agencies, do not receive advertising revenue from Tesla. While this is by no means a direct source of bias, there is no denying that Tesla fires and crashes receive a surprising amount of news coverage.
It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the extensive coverage of Tesla fire incidents over the years has helped to spread the pervasive untruth that electric cars are prone to catch fire. And it’s not just Tesla either. The Chevy Bolt is a victim of the same thing, with the vehicle effectively becoming a fire joke online despite the fact that only a very small fraction of the cars actually caught fire before being recalled.
If Elon Musk’s prediction comes true, there may soon be a time when EV or Tesla fires are reported with the same frequency as hybrid or ICE fires. Such a change will benefit the electric car movement as a whole, as it will further establish the idea that electric cars are just like any other form of personal transport out there on the market.
Do not hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send another message [email protected] to give us a heads up.
