Tijuana Man Burns Tesla While Trying to Charge Directly Off Power Line Connection

This has been a weird year for Tesla owners trying to improve the charging times of their vehicles. The so-called wet towel trick came and went, with the automaker issuing a warning against using water to speed things up. More recently, a man in Tijuana, Mexico, discovered that his idea to plug his Tesla directly into a power line via an illegal electric hookup was not a bright one.

Firefighters said they received a call about a fire at an unoccupied home on Monday, but upon arriving at the scene, they found that a Tesla was the cause of the fire. They then realized that the Tesla was hooked directly to the nearby powerlines. The illegal connections are a significant problem in the area. People connect directly to the power line or splice into electrical meter wiring to get free electricity, but the resulting power flow is unpredictable and largely unsafe.

No injuries were reported, but EV fires are a big problem for first responders. The firefighters in Tijuana had to build dirt berms around the car to hold enough water to keep it submerged. They estimated that the car could take a few days to completely burn out and said that it couldn’t be moved until they were certain the flames were out.

Teslas charge pretty fast in the grand scheme of things. They’re not cheap, either, so if you think you have enough money to buy one, spend the time to go to a real charger and avoid bootleg connections that could end your car’s (and yours or others’) life.

[Images: Matt Gush via Shutterstock]

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