Tesla Model S Appears to Catch Fire Spontaneously in China

New surveillance video posted to Twitter late yesterday afternoon appears to show a parked Tesla Model S catching fire on its own.

Video Appears to Show Model S Bursting Into Flames Spontaneously

In a video being widely shared on Chinese Social Media late yesterday afternoon, a Tesla Model S sitting in a car parking lot in Shanghai appears to burst into flames spontaneously.

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

Users of Weibo, the widely popular Chinese social media app comparable to Twitter, began sharing the video late Sunday evening local time. The video, apparently taken from a surveillance camera, shows a Tesla Model S parked along a line of cars when smoke begins to billow out from underneath, then catching fire immediately after.

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Videos posted to Twitter also show what appears to be the aftermath of the fire, which appears to have completely consumed the Tesla while also damaging the vehicles around it. This is the second report of a Tesla catching fire while parked, according to Electrek Blog, who reported the earlier fire occurred while the Tesla in question was being charged, which does not appear to be the case here.

Aftermath hopefully we will hear from Tesla what truly happened. pic.twitter.com/DuFi0pW9dk

— Jay in Shanghai (@ShanghaiJayin) April 21, 2019

Tesla Sending Investigators to the Site

Tesla released a statement on Weibo in response to the video, saying, “After learning about the incident in Shanghai, we dispatched a team to the scene last night as soon as possible. We are actively liasing with the relevant departments and cooperating with the verification of the situation. According to the current information, there were no casualties.”

Lithium-ion batteries, which Tesla vehicles use, have been known to catch fire on their own or when damaged in an accident. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 famously had issues with their lithium-ion batteries catching fire, causing the company to recall the devices.

Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries have reportedly caught fire in at least five cases both as a result of a collision as well as when parked.