Just months after earning five stars in the NHTSA crash tests and being declared one of the safest cars ever produced, the electric Tesla Model S has had two crashes where it caught on fire. Now there has been a third one in Tennessee.
These photos, first seen by Valuewalk on the Tesla Motors Club forums, show a Tesla Model S near the side of the highway with the front end on fire, much like the first crash where one burnt up.
Tesla confirmed to Valuewalk that the fire happened and that they are on the way to investigate it:
We have been in contact with the driver, who was not injured and believes the car saved his life. Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened. We will provide more information when we're able to do so.
As we've said, cars, even electric cars, can catch on fire. It happens. Now that Teslas are starting to populate the roads more and more, they will be getting in more crashes and more fires will happen.
The newness of an electric car catching fire will wear off over time, but as of right now it's still something very, very new. And I'm willing to bet that Elon Musk and the Tesla team are already working on a way to stop it from every happening again, even though three car fires does not an epidemic make.
It remains to be seen how this third fire will impact Tesla's stock price.
Hat Tip to Jenish!
Photo Credit: Davanh/Instagram, Tesla Motors Club Forum