Are Tesla's Fire Problems A Cause For Concern?

The author of that article is decidedly anti-Tesla. Although I agree that fires that occur without being caused by a collision need to be evaluated and hopefully completely eliminated, there are still far more car fires from non-EVs, and once they get going the gasoline turns them into infernos.

That is a nonsense comparison. There are many orders of magnitude more ICE vehicles in the US and some very old. There are essentially zero from a statistical standpoint spontaneous fires from ICE or competitive EV makes.
80ho's comment is correct in the Elon uses consumers to beta test their cars. And Elon touts range, but is doing so at the expense of safety.

I agree, and on TheDrive I called out those who were not making any adjustments to the numbers. You can't compare all gas engine fires without at least removing those that occurred from an accident. But those people are just as one-sided as many people are here.

Have to look at the % chance of a fire, even better if it is % chance per mile driven for a truly apples to apples comparison.

If it catches fire in the garage under your house you can be damn sure its a problem.

Let’s not forget BMW just settled a lawsuit concerning exactly that from owners

Generally the 'gas' cars that catch fire are not 'new' or 'late model' unless they are defective or in a horrific accident that results in the fuel tank being breached or else results in fuel being sprayed around the hot engine bay.

Barring a defect gas cars generally do not 'spontaneously combust'.

Tesla's problems (which seem to include (i) spontaneous combustion when parked and (ii) spontaneous combustion after either an accident where the battery casing gets damaged or else the batteries get soaked and an 'arc' is created) would indicate to most educated people that either there is a defect present or else that more testing is required.

Gas cars also burst into flames when they are old and neglected (gas tank rusts out and leaks). I'd postulate that most fires on gas cars are in situations where the car is really old and perhaps not as well designed as today's vehicles.

For example, lithium ion battery's in laptops, cell phones, and those scooter/swegway/hoverboards used to spontaneously combust and those were recalled and the issue fixed.

Maybe its time that NHTSA mandates a HUGE Tesla recall.

By the way, if older, ill-maintained, gasoline cars will burst into flames as they deteriorate - it is highly likely that the batteries in EV's will also, especially if the batteries are not removed and recycled.

By the way, if you are worried about your vehicle bursting into flames - you should go to your local Jaguar/Land Rover Centre and get yourself a diesel. Diesel is only combustible at much higher temperatures. (Don't try this but..) if you had some diesel fuel in say a bucket, on a 90 degree summer day and you threw a lighted match into it, the match would go out and the diesel would not ignite.

The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which vapours of the material will ignite, when given an ignition source. Fuels which have a flash point less than 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) are called flammable, whereas fuels having a flash point above that temperature are called combustible. The flashpoint of gasoline is -45 degrees F and the flashpoint of Diesel is 126 degrees F.

Lithium Ion batteries in contrast "..are highly volatile and flammable and show flash points (FPs) around room temperature (between 16 and 33°C [60 degrees to 90 degrees). In combination with an oxidant and an ignition source they can cause fires and explosions. http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/162/2/A3084.full

So, no, it is not the same thing to say that fires caused by gasoline (a highly flammable fuel that is meant to burn in a controlled way in a car) are the same as fires caused by lithium-ion batteries (not a fuel).

TESLA's need a recall in a big way, IMO

BMW’s new/late models were catching fire in home owners garages and they issued a recall after pressure and a class action lawsuit from owners, Tesla should do the same

Did you forget about the F-150s that have been catching fire in garages....they aren't old and neglected

Guess what? ICE cars also catch on fire. By the way, that's a gorgeous Tesla despite being engulfed in flames.

Read the comments above. For the relatively far smaller Tesla volume the fires are significantly more frequent.
This is part of the reason the Audi E-tron is outselling the Models S and X in Europe and North America despite being on the market just recently. Add the Jaguar EV sales and the news is not good for margins for Tesla.
Porsche and others will hit the market soon.

Are self combusting Tesla automobiles a cause of concern? Only to those unlucky enough to be in the Tesla fire trap.

After being damaged, yes. Note this rarely comes up on the Model 3 which is using the latest gen battery tech. Hopefully later this year the S/X will switch to the new tech as well, they are still using similar batteries as in 2012 just with a slightly different chemistry and density.

ROFL:
THERE ARE SOME 400 TO 500 ICE CARS BURNING EVERY DAY IN THE US ALONE.
They never make a headline.
While EVERY burning Tesla anywhere in the world is a lstory“.
So could you pls stop that factless BS.
It simply is a non-topic.