The Adams administration will issue an emergency order today, April 1, barring the owners of Teslas and other cars powered with lithium-ion batteries from driving their vehicles into the five boroughs, citing the well-documented danger that the batteries pose to the general public.
With federal authorities tracking scores of electric car fires over the past two years, Mayor Adams said he was moving quickly to calm New Yorkers’ fears that they will be the next victim of an exploding Tesla, Ford F-150 Lightning or Cadillac Lyriq.
“We’ve seen the damage these cars can do in cities — with fires that simply can’t be extinguished,” Hizzoner said, showing pictures of blown-up electric cars from Sacramento, Calif. and Morris County, Penn. (below).

This Tesla burst into flames after hitting debris in Morris County, N.J. in 2022. Photo: Morris Township Volunteer Fire Company
The move comes after the Adams administration is hoping to help the owners of electric bikes and mopeds to charge their vehicles safely after a spate of fires connected to those vehicles’ batteries. FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh has repeatedly blamed “e-bikes” for an alleged increase in fires in apartments, but the problem of substandard or damaged lithium-ion batteries goes far beyond micromobility.
And unlike electric bikes, whose batteries are small, cars have massive batteries that are a far greater risk to achieve what’s called “thermal runaway,” which occurs when the cells inside a battery short circuit after being punctured (such as in a crash) and start producing more heat than can be dispelled.
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