A Redditor named 3dkSdkvDskReddit posted a photo early this morning showing a Tesla Model S engulfed in an enormous fireball in southwestern France.
We don’t know much about the incident, but 3dkSdkvDskReddit says a Tesla Model S 90D burned to a crisp today during a test drive in Biarritz, France, and that the photo above was sent to him via WhatsApp by a witness.
He says there were three people in the vehicle, including a Tesla employee. Then the Redditer describes what happened during the drive:
...they suddenly heard a loud noise (not an explosion). The car gave a message “Problems with charging” (while they were driving) so they pulled over. 1 minute later the car was in fire and this picture was taken.
Luckily, nobody was hurt, as the car caught fire after they exited.
This isn’t the first Tesla fire we’ve seen, and it likely won’t be the last, but as the general public tries getting used to new EV tech, we need to be careful not to let stories like this frighten us into thinking EVs are inherently more dangerous than gasoline cars. After all, Ferrari has given us plenty of evidence to suggest the contrary.
Here’s Tesla’s statement on the incident:
We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation. The passengers are all unharmed. They were able to safely exit the vehicle before the incident occurred.
It will be interesting to see what caused this fire, because unlike previous Tesla fires we’ve covered, it seems the car was neither charging nor involved in a crash this time around.