The Tesla Megapack battery in a mobile Supercharger caught fire and burned the charging station up in Baker, California, on New Year's Day. Tesla's mobile Superchargers are charging stations built on trailers. They're not the best choice. They appear to be just as vulnerable to battery fires as those in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's electric vehicles.
Electrek reported that the Tesla Megapack caught fire and destroyed a mobile Supercharger located at a charging station in Baker, California, on New Year's Day. The mobile Supercharger, consisting of a trailer equipped with a Megapack battery as well as multiple Superchargers, was utilized to increase capacity at the Supercharger station in Baker throughout the holiday season.
According to Plugshare users, about 50 percent of the Supercharger stalls located at the charging station, which has 40 stalls in total, were still operational on January 1. It's unclear what caused the fire, and Tesla does not currently have an official press relations department in the United States to comment on the incident.
This is the second incident of a Tesla Megapack catching fire. In September 2022, a Megapack caught fire in an energy-storage plant located in Monterrey, California. As Breitbart News reported:
“A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery Storage facility in Monterey County, California. A shelter-in-place advisory was in place for 12 hours due to fears of toxic smoke from the fire caused by Elon Musk’s battery system, with county officials announcing that even though the fire was ‘fully controlled’ by 7:00 p.m. PT, ‘smoke may still occur in the area for several days.’
“KSBW Action News 8 reports that a Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at the local utility company PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery Storage facility in Monterey County, California. The fire reported[ly] started at around 1:30 a.m. on September 20 according to the comm manager for PG&E, Jeff Smith. No injuries were reported at the time.
“Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, North County Fire Protection District, and Pacific Gas & Electric had all issued a shelter-in-place advisory for nearby areas, including an interactive map showing which areas are affected and closing roads for over 12 hours.”
Since its introduction in 2019, Tesla has launched thousands of Megapacks around the world. The Megapack is the company’s largest stationary energy-storage system. It is utilized in a variety of applications, including the storage of utility-scale energy and on-site power generation for companies.
The fire that occurred in Baker will likely raise questions regarding the security of Tesla's systems to store energy. News agencies will follow the investigation into the fire and report the results.
