Photo: Southern Metropolis Daily
A Model S caught fire in April 2019 in Shanghai. A few weeks later, Tesla released an OTA (over-the-air) update that capped the voltage and charging speed of multiple vehicles. Some owners in the U.S. and Norway sued Tesla. While the company proposed a settlement for the former, it is still fighting with the latter in Norwegian courts. When this story seemed to be ending, a new Model S caught fire in China, this time in Guangzhou.
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, the fire started on August 22, 2021, at around 2 PM local time. The car was parked on the second floor of a fancy residential building on Huacheng Avenue, Zhujiang New Town.
A BMW that was right beside the Model S was affected by the fire, which was apparently contained very quickly. Despite that, the BMW owner would have shared on Chinese social media that it was “no accident” and that the years go by with similar cases but that now it affected their car.
After firefighters solved the situation, the Tesla PR team in China would have arrived at the scene. They would have called a tow truck to remove the vehicle for inspection at 12:30 AM on August 23. According to Southern Metropolis Daily, when the BMW owner asked the three people from Tesla’s PR department if the company would pay for the damages in his car, they said they were only there for the Tesla.
Neither the Tesla owner nor the BMW driver would have allowed the car to be towed before the local authorities could examine the car. Tesla’s PR team would have denied that the vehicle caught fire on its own, even after a surveillance video revealed that this was indeed the case. The surveillance video is yet to be seen.
The firefighters would also have stayed on the scene for a little longer to investigate what caused the blaze. It is not clear who will investigate the vehicle. So far, it would still be parked in the same place. A charger close to the Model S, belonging to another Tesla, also caught fire. Its owner told Southern Metropolis Daily that Tesla added him on WeChat but made no contact so far.
A BMW that was right beside the Model S was affected by the fire, which was apparently contained very quickly. Despite that, the BMW owner would have shared on Chinese social media that it was “no accident” and that the years go by with similar cases but that now it affected their car.
After firefighters solved the situation, the Tesla PR team in China would have arrived at the scene. They would have called a tow truck to remove the vehicle for inspection at 12:30 AM on August 23. According to Southern Metropolis Daily, when the BMW owner asked the three people from Tesla’s PR department if the company would pay for the damages in his car, they said they were only there for the Tesla.
Neither the Tesla owner nor the BMW driver would have allowed the car to be towed before the local authorities could examine the car. Tesla’s PR team would have denied that the vehicle caught fire on its own, even after a surveillance video revealed that this was indeed the case. The surveillance video is yet to be seen.
The firefighters would also have stayed on the scene for a little longer to investigate what caused the blaze. It is not clear who will investigate the vehicle. So far, it would still be parked in the same place. A charger close to the Model S, belonging to another Tesla, also caught fire. Its owner told Southern Metropolis Daily that Tesla added him on WeChat but made no contact so far.
A Tesla electric car spontaneously combusted in an underground carpark in the city of Guangzhou yesterday, Nanfang Video reported today, citing a car owner whose BMW was parked next to the Tesla. California-based Tesla said that it will cooperate fully with the investigation. pic.twitter.com/MHSdJJhmb5
— Yicai Global ???? (@yicaichina) August 23, 2021
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