If you have been paying attention to the news at all this past week, you will be aware that a hurricane has hit Southwest Florida and the Carolinas, causing extensive damage.  The storm surge of ocean water propelled by 150MPH winds drowned a good part of low-lying Florida.  It turned out that people in the path of the hurricane, with electric cars, are finding out what happens when a huge lithium-ion battery gets wet.

It so happens that when a battery gets wet, especially with salt water, corrosion sets in fairly soon.  What happens to a corroded lithium-ion battery?  It starts on fire!  Here’s a quote from a great article over at RedState.com.

It’s hard to make out exactly what people are saying in the above video, but the reporter seems to say, “So they’ve already put on 1,500 gallons of water on this and it’s still going.” The firefighter on scene responds, “oh, and this will burn for days.”  I’m sure that’s environmentally friendly.  The problem stems from water getting into the lithium battery, which causes corrosion—which could then cause a fire. Hurricane Ian ripped through Florida last week, causing immense damage and killing over 100 people. While officials were on high alert, exploding cars were not at the top of their list of worries.

But an exploding car might be a worry of an owner of an expensive Tesla, and probably one that would never have entered his mind while he was preparing for the hurricane.

Just one more reason not to buy an electric car.