A Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicle burst into flames due a problem with the car’s “charging” over the weekend.
Three people were in the Model S 90D before the explosion happened–a company employee, a driver and a passenger. When the electric vehicle warned of a charging problem, the three occupants exited the car.
A few moments later, a combustion within the Tesla creation occurred, causing the vehicle to catch fire. Thankfully, no one was injured by the incident.
The fiasco took place in France, where the company was promoting several vehicles as part of its ‘Electric Road Trip.’ Soon after the implosion, the local fire department arrived and put out the flames.
The Model S was destroyed beyond recognition, and the exact cause of the fire is still being investigated. This isn’t the first accident of the sort that has happened with a Tesla vehicle, as a Model S caught fire earlier this year in Norway.
Although the incident raises concern regarding the safety of battery-powered electric vehicles, gasoline cars can be equally as dangerous, if not more. In 2013, Tesla noted that its vehicles’ battery pack only contains 10% of the energy of a gas vehicle, and the combustion potential in such a car is only 1% that of fuel in a gasoline sedan.
Elon Musk and co. have come under fire lately for the design of its vehicles as a crash occurred earlier in the summer while the vehicle was in ‘Autopilot’ mode that prompted Consumer Reports to implore Tesla to deactivate the self-driving feature.
A second ‘Autopilot’-related crash happened last week.
TSLA stock is up 0.3% Monday.
