By the look of the news reports, it was a tyre fire (that spread to the batteries).

Won't stop the LiHiuM iS kIlLiNg OuR BaBiEs!@!!#! crowd on social media though.

Bit scary though, ICE or EV.

A bit more context in a Reddit post,  though obviously can't verify its accuracy...

 

Hello Stuff.co.nz, NewsHub etc,

 

I just got home from this. Tesla was driving at least from the tunnel (where I got on) with the left front tyre on fire. I was expecting her to pull over once out of the tunnel, but when I went around the bend, she hadn't pulled over, in fact she had zoomed off far ahead. As I approached the bridge there was burning rubber strewn across the road, but she was still going, one car in front of me. They eventually stopped half way up northbound side. Three other cars and I passed while the car was ablaze, I called emergency and some other handsome ass, turbo chad, chisel jawed hero pulled a lady out (you have to verbatim quote that if you steal this, Stuff). The car inferno'd for another 10 mins with frequent very loud bangs and batteries fizzing out with jets of flame before Fire/Police arrived.

 

She was okay, but clearly not sober. Apparently she was just sitting there at the wheel, awake, while her car burned until the other guy pulled her out and dragged her aside. More to the story but probably not appropriate to tell all on reddit.

 

Very glad she's safe, regardless of fault. Crazy shit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/auckland/comments/126k1gp/why_the_bridge_is_at_a_standstill/

Hmm, O/T, but "not appropriate to tell on Reddit" - I didn't know there was such a thing!

Would love to know how the tyres caught on fire. 

I read that Reddit post this morning. 
I just can't think of anything that wouldn't be appropriate to say on Reddit - it's a free-for-all. 

Anyway - from what that witness was saying, it sounds a bit like an impaired driver with a flaming wheel, who just lost the plot. 

turtleattacks:

 

Would love to know how the tyres caught on fire. 

 

Running a normal tyre flat will get it super hot and start to break down.  At some point the steel belts may become exposed and potentially spark from contacting the road rapidly.  From there, catching fire is possible if everything combines in the right/wrong way.

I've changed someones tyre before after they drove for about 10km with it flat.  Was too hot to touch even with heavy gardening gloves and had been smoking like crazy for a few km until a couple of us managed to stop her continuing to drive on it.

I can imagine that because of that route, you are stuck in the outside lane, no exits until the other side of the bridge, she may have just tried to get to a place where there was lots of space to get off the highway.

From what I've seen - this was not a battery fire at all. The battery is at the bottom of the vehicle.

It was caused by an intoxicated driver who was driving on a flat. This spread to the entire front section of the car. Looking at the photos the battery is looking fine.

Still won't stop BEV Haters from smashing this to pieces.

I am sure cycles will be the blame on social media

Tesla would be kitted out with tyre inflation sensors? so the car would know?
I expect that the car would be issuing loud warnings?

"Dave your tyres are flat"
"Dave your tyres are really really flat"
"Dave, stop. Stop, will you?"
"Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave? Stop, Dave"
"I’m afraid"
"I’m afraid, Dave"

Suppose if Human's judgement is otherwise incapacitated the Ai is done for ?

@ezbee Doesn't help if the driver is completely ratassed... But yes they have tyre sensors and will alert you to check your tyres too.

Batman: One front tyre on fire, cow was also flying...

I'm thinking tyre wasn't first thing on fire unless it was doing burnout with a single front tyre, or doused in accelerant

Try and drive a long distance on a flat tyre.  See what happens.....

Seriously don't though.  They can and do catch themselves on fire without a burnout or accelerant being applied.

There are other potential options that could contribute or cause a wheel based fire.  Sticky brakes for example.

Not saying that it definitely was just a flat tyre because I wasn't there.  But that certainly CAN be a cause.

BlueShift:

 

Hmm, O/T, but "not appropriate to tell on Reddit" - I didn't know there was such a thing!

 

Handsomedan:

 

I read that Reddit post this morning. 
I just can't think of anything that wouldn't be appropriate to say on Reddit - it's a free-for-all. 

 

To be fair, it doesn't actually say that. It says "not appropriate to tell all on reddit", i.e. "I don't feel comfortable with telling the whole story on a public website" as opposed to "some parts of this story aren't Reddit-appropriate".