This is indeed a big issue. I've also been playing with high draw lion and lifepo4 for years, like 10 years now without a single incident, sometimes pulling more than 30A from a single cell.
It's like everything else though, in the hands of the careless, ignorant, or lazy the danger skyrockets. Most people don't even know how to change their oil these days, so it's a big ask to expect them to learn the intricacies of lithium battery care.
In my eyes the car issues are related to the manufacturers trying to cut charging times to absurdly low levels, pushing very high amperage into batteries that are better suited to lower charge rates in an attempt to make them widely accepted as an ICE alternative.
I love electric/performance hybridized vehicles, but handing a 100KW pack on wheels to a Luddite who's never heard of thermal runaway is a terrible idea.