Two years ago, two friends were driving to their weekend getaway in Orient, Long Island, in New York. Both were doctors. One was a noted pulmonologist who had saved my life in 1998 when I had a dangerous pulmonary embolism. His wife was a surgeon in an emergency room at a public hospital, who saved lives every day. They were driving a Ford Explorer.

It was late, about 11:30 pm on a Friday night. They were close to their home, and the highway was nearly deserted.

For reasons that no one knows, they collided with a new Tesla, driven by a man who was showing it to his friend, a visitor. The Tesla exploded. The local fire department arrived soon after. Their poured water on the two burning cars, but the water could not douse the Tesla’s lithium battery. The fire burned out hours later. The four people in the two cars burned to death.

Since then, I have read about electric bicycles with lithium batteries that exploded spontaneously. They should never be stowed indoors.

Then I googled “Tesla exploding,” and I saw a pattern. Beware. Safety matters most.