A video released on Chinese social media site Weibo shows a Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicle exploding for seemingly no reason. The company is now investigating the situation, which has some concerned about the safety of the electric vehicles.
Tesla Car Explodes in China
The short video, captured by a surveillance camera, shows a white Tesla Model S parked in a lot in Shanghai. From out of nowhere, the car begins to smoke and then burst into flames. The incident occurred yesterday evening and was immediately posted onto the Weibo platform. It has been shared widely since.
Tesla has neither confirmed or denied the details but has said it is investigating the incident in tandem with Chinese authorities.
A spokesperson for the company said to CCN Business earlier today:
“We immediately sent a team on-site and we’re supporting local authorities to establish the facts. From what we know now, no one was harmed.”
Concerns
The video clip has understandably caused concern among Tesla owners. With no apparent tampering or obvious reason for the car to explode, the common idea is that something malfunctioned with the car. The news has sparked outrage with Weibo users posting opinions on the matter.
For example, Miao Hongyang said:
“Us car owners demand an explanation. Jeopardizing our safety in a moment’s instant and the fact it ignited so quickly is something we will not tolerate.”
Tesla in China
This is the first time a Tesla vehicle has burst into flames for no apparent reason. The company has suffered incidents before such as a malfunction with the autonomous driving feature and several crashes. But electric vehicles are notoriously supposed to be safer than internal combustion engines, with Tesla claiming the latter is 10 times more likely to catch fire than electric batteries.
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Further, the occurrence is considered strange, as Tu Le, founder of consultant firm Sino Auto Insights puts it: “It seems strange that the battery, not charging, would combust on its own.”
With 20% of its annual revenue typically coming in from China, Tesla cannot afford to have this incident spur on negative sentiment for the safety of its cars. No doubt, the company will announce more details on it soon, and we can’t rule out the very real possibility that someone interfered with the car and that this is a man-made error.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos © Imaginechina-Editorial
