Fire at electric car charging station goes viral on TikTok

Footage of a fire above an electric-car charging station in Victoria has gone viral on social media platform TikTok – but it’s unclear if the Tesla Model Y on charge is to blame for the blaze, or faulty electrical infrastructure.

The video, which has attracted more than 1000 comments, shows a fire burning at the top of a power pole next to an Evie electric-vehicle charging station in Woodend, Victoria, a town 70km north-west of Melbourne’s CBD.

A red Tesla Model Y is shown plugged in and charging at the station when the fire starts, but the car and the charging station appear to be undamaged.

“One day it will burn your house down, lock you inside and plan to kill you,” reads the video’s caption, with the clip’s original poster seemingly suggesting the Tesla vehicle is responsible for the fire.

Some commenters echoed this sentiment, with one calling the video “another classic example we’re not ready for electric cars,” while another added: “It’s the same as turning on 100 toaster[s] in your house, they drag that much power”.

Updates from users on electric-car charging app PlugShare reported electricity provider Powercor attended the scene of the blaze, and that the 50kW charging station was left out of action for a few days.

However, the location of the fire – and its distance from the car and charger – suggest the fire may instead be due to ageing electrical infrastructure or faulty wiring on the pole.

Images from Google Street View suggest the junction box involved in the fire has been operational for at least 13 years.

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Powercor told Drive: “We are aware of the incident and are conducting a full investigation into the cause.”

Drive has also approached Evie, the supplier of the charging station, for comment.

Despite many viewers blaming the fire either on the Tesla or the charging station, some users challenged this viewpoint and directed blame instead at old electricity infrastructure.

“This is Tesla’s fault how? They don’t maintain the city’s substandard equipment,” wrote one.

“So why is it Tesla’s fault the Australian government can’t update their infrastructure properly,” another added.

While public electric-car chargers vary in their power, and each electric car can accept a different level of charging power, recharging infrastructure is typically safeguarded against major electrical issues to prevent incidents, or damage to the vehicle.

“Provided that the charger has the right connector for your vehicle, you can use any charger, even one with a higher maximum charge speed than what your vehicle supports,” Bernhard Conoplia, Head of Charging at Evie Networks, has previously told Drive.

“The vehicle’s battery management system will moderate the charging speed in accordance with the battery specification, state of charge and
environmental conditions.”