As if another demonstration were needed, another battery-powered device has gone up in smoke – this time, taking an entire manufacturing facility along for the ride.
More than 100 firefighters – and a Hazmat team – worked to put out the Four Alarm Fire (signifying a catastrophic blaze) at the GM Design Studio in Pasadena, CA after an EV prototype spontaneously combusted last week. The three story, 149,000 structure is now a smoldering ruin, with palls of toxic smoke marking the epicenter.
Pasadena Fire Department Spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said – in the aftermath – “This is one of the largest structure fires we’ve had in Pasadena in many, many years.”
That’s how much damage – to a building – one EV fire can cause. And people wonder why the cost of insurance, both car and home, is going ballistic.
Defenders of the Faith will say: EV fires are statistically rare! This is true, sort of – in that there are still not many EVs in general circulation; they constitute about 8 percent of the total number of vehicles on the road and the bulk of that 8 percent is concentrated in areas such as Southern California and Blue Hive cities/suburbs such as Washington, DC and its perimeter counties in Northern Virginia and Maryland. 
But the important truth is that cost of even one EV fire is far higher than the cost of an ordinary car fire because it is often the case that the car fire ends up consuming everything in the vicinity of the fire. EV fires – more finely, chemical fires involving huge lithium-ion EV battery packs – burn hotter and faster and are much more difficult to put out than a gasoline-fueled fire.
This fire, for instance, consumed the better part of an entire building before it was finally extinguished. The cost to repair the building will surely run into the millions and guess who’ll be paying for that? If you said, the insurance company – think harder. Insurance companies transfer the costs they incur onto the backs of people – other people – who pay insurance premiums. If you are wondering why your home insurance premiums are up double digits, know you know why. Every EV that is parked in someone else’s garage represents a potentially massive liability – not just the car but the house as well.
You may recall the EV fire that happened in Maryland about two years ago. A Mercedes dealer loaned one of its EVs to a customer whose vehicle was in for service. The customer drove the EV home and parked it outside the home. Left it on the pad by the garage. While it was parked, the thing spontaneously combusted – and the heat was so extreme that the adjacent garage caught fire and in the end the entire house was a total loss, in addition to the Mercedes EV.
Consider the tab. One $100k EV – a total loss – plus the loss of a million-dollar home. The insurance companies – for whom this writer has no love but will in this instance defend – know that every EV parked near anything else might take out whatever else it is parked close to. How many instance of a non-EV spontaneously catching fire while parked occur nationally? This writer could not find a single instance reported over the past five years; probably because a parked non-EV is extremely unlikely to spontaneously combust. Because gas fires require a spark and parked cars don’t generally spark. But EVs do not require a spark to catch fire. They just do sometimes. It is the nature of high-voltage lithium ion battery packs and it cannot be prevented by being careful with them. The fire in Maryland, for instance, could not conceivably have been prevented – except by not parking the EV that burst into flames anywhere near the home it burned down.
Consider the hilarity of that.
In order to assure that an EV doesn’t burn down the house, the smart thing is to park it as far away from the house as possible. But that means not being able to recharge the thing at home – because the cord won’t reach all the way from the house to the street. And then you have to worry about other cars parked on the street being burned to cinders via proximity in the event the EV catches fire while it’s parked on the street.
In other words, innocent cars parked near an EV are at risk and their owners can do nothing to ameliorate that risk except avoid parking near an EV at all costs and watching to make sure an EV doesn’t. get parked near their car.
One ought also to avoid parking in parking garages – as it is the only way to prevent an EV from destroying the garage and everything in it, including the other cars parked inside. This is not speculative. It has already happened. It will happen again, too – because nothing can be done to prevent it from happening, other than barring EVs from all public parking buildings. 
In sum, we’re not only paying for these EVs via the subsidies and regulatory mandates that have pushed them into existence (and ludicrously inflated the market cap of manufacturers such as Tesla via anticipated forced demand for EVs) as well as the ever-increasing compliance costs imposed on non-EVs that are meant to make them both unappealing and unaffordable (so as to push us into EVs) we are also paying through the nose to cover the liability costs, both actual and anticipated, of these devices.
In prior – saner – times, the government would have ordered EVs off the road on account of the hazard they present. But we no longer live in sane times. We live in ideological times.
That plus grift explains all.
There is a great deal of money to be made off this business, you see. And much of it is being extracted from our hides, even though we aren’t the ones incurring the costs.
. . .
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[…] https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2025/10/25/burning-down-the-house/ […]
Hey Eric,
Off topic but you’ve mentioned Harrison Bergeron a bunch on your site. Saw a Tweaker comment saying something you might like about it.
Basically how today, the intelligent people are “forced” to walk around outside with bluetooth devices or headphones blasting music into their ears, breaking up their concentration, but to avoid the ooga booga music and general low-IQ AYyyyyoo! sounds in the city or on the street.
I would love for Eric to write an article about this unfortunate phenomenon. Anyone who lives near a major road is forced to hear the incessant “thump-thump-thump” of the loud-woofer stereos of these mongoloids, not to mention the “look at me!” noise of the straight pipe Harley crowd.
I have thunderstorm/nature/etc noises or music going for these reasons alone. Better my music than theirs.
Watch this horrific video of a brand new Ford E-Mustang go out of control
Electric Ford Mustang on Highway, No Steering or Accelerator Control
https://www.itemfix.com/v?t=2njjty
Except the driver was arrested for DUI
Most problems boil down to an issue with the nut connecting the steering wheel to the pedals.
Not all, but most.
A 149,000 sqft building in LA to build today would run approximately $100MM to rebuild in a greenfield or more. Not including the toxic waste removal and don’t forget who runs that business, I assure you it’s not the Boy Scouts, and save something for your Building Inspectors for the sudden zoning issues that come up. (parroting Rodney Dangerfield)
But the real cost loses are not in individual structures but the ships that have gone down to Davey’s locker. Real money lost there.
This may not be the correct place to make this observation. Battery technology is not stagnant. Before Lithium Ion, the was lead acid. They are heavy but reliable and don’t spontaneously combust. However, without lighter, Li batteries, we would not have drones, the Pivotal Aero and other e-vtols. Lithium iron batteries don’t have the nasty habit of bursting into flames, and there will be more advances in battery technology.
With recent developments in 3D printing and the drop in cost of CNC, CAD and CAM, I am optimistic about the future of transportation for the masses.
A couple of videos that give me hope for the future:
https://youtu.be/OItJyiCvE1w
https://youtu.be/yIaLJ_s8hWE
No little old ladies or Super Stock Dodges were hurt in the fire.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D7f9hsFrKUY
And…..because you had to have such a title, Eric, here is the so-named song with the same title. Lord, 1983?? I think I am getting old-ha ha. An oldie from “Talking Heads”. This one has the lyrics, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3eC35LoF4U&list=RD_3eC35LoF4U&start_radio=1
‘The three-story, 149,000 square foot structure is now a smoldering ruin.’ — eric
This is the Hindenburg moment for EeeVees — the analog of that horrific crash-and-burn tragedy in 1937 which marked the end of the airship era.
EeeVees are a vice that no longer can be tolerated in the civilized society. While those who bought these satanic devices should not be rewarded, nevertheless a $7,500 ‘cash for Eeevee clunkers’ program would perform a valuable social service by getting some of these firebomb death traps off the road.
Cash for EeeVee Clunkers could pay for itself if these infernal machines were demolished in glorious public spectacles. How do you make two self-driving Teslas slam into each other head-on at 100 mph in front of 100,000 spectators? A simple OTA (Over The Air) update will accomplish it. 🙂
I know I would pay good money to see the interior of a Tesla smeared with peanut butter and jelly, and then ripped to shreds by hungry grizzly bears. YEEHAW!
Even better, let EeeVee Mary Barra and Lightning Jim Farley launch themselves off the top of a Las Vegas casino, Thelma-and-Louise style, in a burning EeeVee pickup. GO BIG OR GO HOME.
Imagine that…. We’ve been sold complete bull crap involving EVs for years……I don’t know what narratives were MORE BS overall: Narratives involving climate change, narratives involving EVs, or narratives involving mRNA COVID jabs…..
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/10/the_green_mirage_the_hidden_costs_behind_the_electric_car_hype.html
Insurance providers have investigators, because it is routine for businesses to burn to the ground to collect the insurance. If GM is changing course, and is planning on canning EV cars, why not burn it down for the insurance money and cut your losses short? In the real world, only the ruthless survive. When EV sales are down why not make a final sale to the insurance company?
Remember Michael Hastings? Had the scoop of a lifetime on Hillary Clinton. His brand new car is remote controlled into a tree, doors lock, gets burned alive. Yeah, these new cars have back door hacks, any new EV can be used as an assassination device.
Not saying GM did it, but a competitor could of done it. Or it could have been an accident. Bottom line, do not own a device, do not park it in your garage, do not park next to one on the street.
Tesla goes out of control in China:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1BIRZGkb58
https://www.tesla-fire.com/
“About 14 percent of arson cases are motivated by insurance fraud, with significant financial losses reported. In 2009, arson led to nearly $800 million in property damage, highlighting the serious nature of this crime”
“The Role of “Slammers” in Staged Accidents
A key player in these fraudulent schemes is the “slammer”—an individual who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial vehicle, often targeting large trucks. These scammers pack their vehicle with accomplices who later claim injuries, allowing attorneys and medical providers to file exaggerated or entirely fraudulent claims. The goal is to extract large settlements from insurers, exploiting the high liability limits of commercial auto policies.”
Before Gaza dust has settled, Monstrous Fat Orange Bastard’s son in law Jared Kushner is already going full bore with real estate development with Saudi money backing. Nothing like blowing the shit out of some other people’s land (with free government monies) so you can steal it and make a fortune on real estate.
Note: MFOB was invented by Harold Smith over at Unz
Just remember folks, the fish rots at the head first. Trump is setting the example for massive fraud, if it is ok for POTUS, then hell it must be ok for Government Motors too.
I’d love to see Eric in a hit TV show investigating car crashes, like the guy who strapped a JATO rocket to the back of his car:
The JATO Rocket Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3WC4zL6tnw
We don’t need no water, let the motherfucker burn.
Burn, motherfucker, burn.
Also, all else aside, you can prevent these spontaneous immolationa by using the proper battery chemistry. But keep not!
Remember comrades: Soviet power is communism plus the electrification of the nation!
(Taken from a Soviet propaganda poster.)
https://youtu.be/HyiE4XT5Dz0?si=2FOe-M1zar1llwTp
Battery explosion damages apartments.
Hi BiD,
The reaction to that story from governments pushing EVERYONE to get an EV is likely to be similar to that of governments that pushed compulsory COVID jabs for all despite the narratives surrounding them turning out to be 100% BS: “Shut up and get an EV!”/ “Shut up and get your COVID vaxx!”
It’s really pretty easy to sift the wheat from the chaff when it comes to GovCo. Those that respond to being questioned about their proposals with reasoned, analytical responses are the wheat. Those that, when questioned, get their back up, tell you to shut up and just do it (whatever “It” is) and then move to ad hominin attacks (“conspiracy theorist”, “hater”, “detractor”, “malcontent”, etc.) when repeatedly challenged are the chaff.
Hi Mark,
Another term that has been thrown around, particularly during COVID and the overzealous COVID jab push, was the term ANTI-VAXXER. And for a time, when people who’ve been vaxxed were STILL getting the dreaded ‘Rona, that was blamed NOT on the jabs being ineffective, but on people who refused the jab, and yet there are people who STILL belieeeeeeeeeeve that BS narrative. I suppose next, they’ll blame cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change on people who REFUSE to give up their gas vehicle for an EV or refuse to give up MEAT & eat bugs and frankenfood instead.
Funny thing about the so called anti-vaxers. They ended up being right in not talking the jabs and are better off for it.
And yet, corporate media and many politicians are doubling down on “Vaccines for all”, “Safe and Effective!”, and even the term “ANTI-VAXXER”…..
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2025/10/25/shedders-silent-spreaders/
…and yet if you request a copy of the vaccine studies big pharma is supposed to be doing as a condition of enjoying immunity…they will admit they do not have them. I have also heard (not sure if true) that all vaccines are now messenger rNA.
Hi Shadow,
I don’t know if ALL vaccines are now mRNA, but if they are, not only is it a reason NOT to get ANY vaccines in the future, but lots of people in the MAHA movement who wanted to see RFK Jr as HHS Secretary will likely be disappointed as well.
And remember how natural immunity was smeared as a “Dangerous Right Wing (or ANTI-VAXXER) Conspiracy Theory” despite natural immunity having existed since the dawn of Man? Funny thing though is that Big Pharma couldn’t make ANY MONEY off of it, and Pharma likely paid corporate media to peddle that narrative.
There’s still the issue of states with authoritarian government that wish to FORCE people out of any gas vehicles they own and into an EV under guise of “Stopping cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change”. If they succeed with that, not only will it likely result in even MORE EV fires, it will also likely result in the electrical grid collapsing as these same governments also zealously push demented Net Zero policies. And yet, there are people who STILL belieeeeeeeeeeve the Climate change narratives even though such narratives have been pushed by billionaires and an Uber elitist group called The Club of Rome over 50 years ago.
Oh yes….”Climate Change” is soooo terrible we serfs need to be forced out of using wood burning stoves, gas guzzling vehicles, and just about anything else that makes our lives easier and more pleasant. “Climate Change” is sooo terrible and critical, the elite have to keep their mansions, sports cars, SUV’s and private jets. If it was not reality it might be funny. Except that we are the joke, and they are laughing at us for obeying without a fight (well, some)
Hi Shadow,
There are people in my family who’ve bought the cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change narratives hook, line, and sinker while at the same time claiming they hate billionaires. Ironically, it’s billionaires that have been peddling that particular narrative while claiming that the sinister technocratic agenda they’re also pushing will “Stop cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change”.
Comedian Jimmy Dore has had some brilliant takedowns of the billionaires pushing the cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change narratives and exposing them as complete phonies. This whole cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change thing is little more than a ginormous scam for the elite to get even more wealthy at the expense of ordinary people. The Biden Thing’s fmr Climate Czar, John Kerry, all but admitted as much just a few years ago at one of those Uber elitist meetings. This push for CARBON FOOTPRINT trackers and taxes is also a scam, but that’s another talk for another time.
Aaah…what is that saying? Oh yes..”there’s a sucker born every minute”. It is just sad that it has to be a member of your family.
Hi Shadow,
In the case of my family, it’s 2 members who bought the cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change narratives. But will being told that to “Stop cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change” they have to eat bugs, drive an EV, and live in an itty bitty shack wake them up to the FRAUD that is CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMATE CHANGE!? Who knows.
John B. Those people will never wake up. People know longer believe what they see with their own eyes; nor are they capable of thinking outside of propagated narrative.
They believe what they are told by “the experts”. Even when the “experts” admit the narrative is a fairy tale and not “science”, as long as the narrative is still pushed by academia and the media, that is what the majority will believe.
Fauci stood on a stage and admitted that masks and all of that nonsense was essentially nothing more than a lucky rabbit’s foot; but you still see plenty of fools wearing masks of their ovn volition; and when the powers that be “recommend” or demand it again, the majority will dutifully comply.
My BIL just got another “COVID shot”- despite the fact that everyone around him who had taken them in the past all ended up getting the relabeled common flu multiple times. “Because his doctor recommended it”. The same guy (BIL) takes statins for “cholesterol”- despite the fact that he has been on them forever, and still had to have a “bypass”; doesn’t watch his diet; and that the dangers of such drugs AND the whole cholesterol narrative has been proven to be complete BS.
Sounds like people who STILL vote Democrat because Democrat politicians are “fighting for the working class against billionaires”, despite the fact that it has become increasingly obvious the past several years that the Democratic party is looking out NOT for the working class and small businesses, but billionaires and large corporations. Just look at the way they pushed COVID vaxx mandates for the masses a few years ago despite those jabs being experimental. Big Pharma was likely behind that push for mandates.
Well, to be fair, back in the day the working class did have a lot more money. Now that the workers are broke and in debt, you can’t run a proper campaign/theft ring with them. So go where the money is, not where it could be.
(sarcasm)
Sadly, Arthur, it is easier for these people to have someone tell them what to do like a two-year old. Then that way, they do not have to be responsible for anything. Never mind their masters will turn around and blame them for everything in the end, anyway. So it would behoove such people to get a brain, steal a spine….something, because in the end, not having either is down right deadly. But try to tell them that, and suddenly you are their enemy worse than the one you are trying to warn them about.
Hi Arthur. Or, with those experts who are not falling in line with the mainstream BS, they get eliminated. Think Kary Mullis, who designed the PCR test. Before his convenient death (August 2019, of “pneumonia”) Mullis had no problems lambasting Fauci for being an idiot when it came to being a scientist, and not knowing what in the hell he (Fauci) was talking about. Mullis received (and shared) the Nobel Prize award that year (1993, I believe) for his PCR test, and Mullis explained his test was NOT to be used to diagnose, because it was too sensitive. He said he could jack up the cycle threshold up high enough, that a person could test “positive” for anything they (the tester) was looking for. Fast-forward, and that is exactly what hospitals were (and are still) using: PCR tests to diagnose “COVID” and everything else. How convenient Mullis was dead by then, and not able to tell them what frauds they were.
Hi John,
I wonder how much actual poisonous gas is emitted by one of those lithium fires vs. the supposedly deadly CO2 the EV cultists think they need to stop.
Not to mention the CARBON FOOTPRINTS EV fires emit, as the elites are pushing CARBON FOOTPRINT TRACKERS & CARBON TAXES for the masses. What the climate change zealots NEVER call for are closing down all the military bases around the world, nor do they ever call for banning private jets or even ending war, as private jets used by the elite and all these wars the U.S. government has been involved in since the start of the 21st century likely also caused FAR MORE MASSIVE environmental damage than a gas vehicle does in its lifetime.
Elon will take us to Mars. Stop your sniveling about the necessary sacrifices, peasants.
Can we stop off at the Moon first? I left something there. Oh, wait- NASA has proposed to send robots to the Moon first to make sure humans could endure the trip. Wait…what? OOOppss! Oh well, not like anyone’s been there before. (But I seen[sic] it on the T. V. !).
For all of Trump’s faults, it seems that the EV grift is coming to an end during his administration… which is odd considering that Musk is (was?) his buddy.
There are still of course going to be True Believers in the EV con out there, just like there are still covid maskers (often the same people, I suspect).
But Trump is not throwing the full weight of FedGov behind the EV push any more… (I guess Israel is a bigger priority, LOL).
Musk has made his multiple billions on the BEV grift. I have to give him grudging respect, most Ponzi schemes have a dead end, he seems to have found an off-ramp.
Trump hasn’t done anything more though.
With all of Musks money, he should have thought about building internal combustion powered cars.
With that cynical of a strategy shift, id be inclined to buy a gas powered Tesla.
Frankenstein’s monster is on the loose.
How appropriate that Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is in theaters this week to qualify for Oscars.
The marketing catch line?
“Only monsters play God”
“I did not know that.” – Johnny Carson [voice]
And, what a great catch line.
PS: Christian Zionists, call your office…
I might add, when I hear enviros shriek they’re “saving the planet”, all I hear is “I want to be God”
It’s an excellent film, I just watched it. Highly recommend.
EV’s are getting a HUGE pass by the safety cult. Remember the shitstorm over the Ford Pinto’s gas tank and the GM square body saddle-side gas tanks? If the safety cult were consistent, there would be a huge uproar to remove EV’s from use. But then if it weren’t for double standards, the anti-freedom groups would have no standards at all.
Let’s not forget that NBC rigged an explosion of a GM truck:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-10-mn-1335-story.html
The whore media had been around for a long time…
Hi X,
EVs have also been getting a huge pass from cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change zealots. I’ve read and seen numerous pieces suggesting that EVs are actually WORSE for the environment than regular gas vehicles, but these same people don’t say SQUAT about it. They probably also didn’t say SQUAT about all the plastic waste that resulted from MILLIONS if not BILLIONS of face diapers that ended up in oceans when governments in so-called “Western Democracies” ORDERED their citizens to “Mask up” in 2020.
Since the LA Times didn’t credit them, I’ll point out that it was Popular Hot Rodding magazine that broke that story.
You are right Allen I looked it up…Deaths for Pinto fires 27….Deaths from just Tesla fires 83 as of 2023….Double standard.
Jewish Lightening strikes again.
If Jews can shamelessly murder Palestinian and Syrian children with exploding pagers, just wait until their goy-surveillance company known as Palantir figures out how to detonate the lithium batteries in Teslas, Rivians, VW’s and Volvos.
Yeah, those kikes are so smart we can’t possibly beat them.