Eerie footage that appears to show a Tesla Model S spontaneously combusting in an underground parking lot in Shanghai, China has emerged online.
The video, recently posted on Twitter, shows a white Model S parked alongside two Audis. At the start of the clip, smoke can be seen coming out from under the electric sedan. Just seconds later, there is a huge explosion which briefly blinds the security camera. When it starts displaying the video again, it shows flames engulfing the car and charring the cars next to it.
Good or bad, negative or positive I will post anything about Tesla or EVs in China. This happened today in Shanghai, China ?? 1st generation Tesla Model S caught Fire ? underground car park.#Tesla #TeslaChina #ModelS #Fire #China #Shanghai #特斯拉 #中国 $TSLA pic.twitter.com/HOwMcvulV1
— Jay in Shanghai (@ShanghaiJayin) April 21, 2019
The Model S was totally destroyed by the blaze and the vehicles parked either side of it were also wrecked. More footage from inside the parking garage shows the remnants of the vehicles after local authorities finally extinguished the fire.
Very few details about the incident are known. However, unless some kind of incendiary device was placed under the Tesla, it looks like that the blaze started in the sedan’s battery pack and quickly spread. It’s also worth noting that the car wasn’t charging at the time, ruling out the possibility of a faulty charger starting the inferno.
Tesla is typically quite good when it comes to investigating incidents of its vehicles and recently confirmed that it is doing just that with this one too.
“After finding out about this incident in Shanghai, we immediately sent a team to the scene. We are currently contacting relevant departments to understand the situation. Based on current information, no one was hurt,” Tesla said in a statement.
Aftermath hopefully we will hear from Tesla what truly happened. pic.twitter.com/DuFi0pW9dk
— Jay in Shanghai (@ShanghaiJayin) April 21, 2019