Amazon Electric Vans Ignite In Houston Heat. Rivian Rules Out Battery Fault [Video]

Electric vehicle fires are rare, but they quickly make headlines due to the new technology and ongoing public education about EV safety. A recent incident that caught our attention involved three Rivian Amazon Electric Delivery Vans (EDVs) bursting into flames at an Amazon fulfillment center in Houston, Texas, this week.

For starters, Amazon is using thousands of EDVs made by Rivian to cut its emissions. The fleet is quickly expanding and they’re already all over the U.S. The footage of the EDVs catching fire was captured by drone operator Third Coast Drone on July 1 and first reported by Gizmodo.

In the video above, you can see a large parking lot with tens of EDVs and some are plugged in for charging. The maximum temperature that day had reached almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit as the scorching summer heat wave continues to affect several U.S. states.

The drone operator saw plumes of toxic black smoke rising towards the sky from one Rivian EDV first …