THIS is the shocking moment a Tesla worth at least £50,000 burst into flames on a busy motorway.
Dramatic footage shows firefighters desperately working to put out the horror blaze engulfing the electric car, using 6,000 litres of water.
Fire crews desperately worked to put out the blaze that raged on the side of a busy Australia highway on Monday evening
The inferno, which was caused when a piece of debris damaged the electric car’s lithium battery, at one point appeared to engulf the £50,000 motor
GettyThe Tesla Model 3 is powered by a lithium battery, a power sauce causing worldwide concern over spontaneous and sometimes inextinguishable fires[/caption]
The Tesla Model 3 is believed to have erupted after a piece of debris from a passing truck damaged the electric vehicle’s lithium battery.
Emergency services rushed to the horror scene on Monday evening on one of Australia‘s major inter-city national motorways.
The driver and passenger were both able to escape the roadside inferno safely.
But it took fire crews a bulk water tanker with 6,000 litres and half an hour to put out the blaze.
New South Wales Rural Fire Service told MailOnline it was their “first call to an electric vehicle fire”.
“The car had hit debris from a vehicle in front of it and was well alight when Penrose Rural Fire Brigade arrived.”
Fires caused by lithium batteries, like the one found in this Tesla, are a growing concern worldwide.
Last year Australia saw 180 battery fires in NSW, 120 in Victoria, 72 in Queensland and 59 in Western Australia.
Everyday items made using them, from vapes and gardening tools to modes of transport like e-bikes and scooters, are becoming increasingly more common.
Faulty or low quality batteries can ignite while you’re charging them, but even more dangerously can catch alight without use.
Certain conditions like overheating, flooding or a puncturing of the battery can also wreak havoc.
A Tesla worth £70,000 burst into flames in a scrapyard last month in California.
Many suggested online that it was also caused by a damaged lithium battery which had overheated inside the car.
One woman in the US got the fright of her life when a dodgy vape pen exploded in her handbag as she shopped.
Mara McInerney was left horrified as the lithium battery in her bag blew up right in front of her face while she stood at the counter in a store, speaking to the shop assistant.
And those travelling on planes have even been warned about bringing a portable power bank, used to charge phones, onboard flights because of their lithium batteries.
This is because they can produce dangerous heat levels, cause ignition, short circuit very easily, and cause inextinguishable fires.
It took emergency services over half an hour and 6,000 litres of water to put out the horror blaze, although both passengers survived