They say lightning never strikes twice in the same spot, but one time is enough to cause plenty of malfunctions, as Tesla Model S owner Sarah Day found out while she was charging her all-electric sedan during a storm.
Speaking to Teslarati, Sarah Day said a lightning bolt hit very close by while she was charging her Model S at a Supercharger found near Columbus, Georgia.
“I heard the crash, and just a second or two after about 9 errors popped up on the dashboard. Some of them were low charge warnings, saying it would disable some functions. Others were on how the car needs to be serviced. I was also getting that the car can’t be charged and that the 12-volt battery is low".
“After the storm died down I got out of the car. The charging port wasn’t lit up, and when I tried to remove the cable it wouldn’t come out. I still had most of the functions in the car, including the touchscreen. The other car that was charging just a couple stalls down from me was completely fine and drove away though I didn’t get to talk to that owner afterward."
Although each Supercharger station uses a mix of relays and sensors to protect the car from power surges, the Model S owner has no idea why her car remained disabled.
She did contact the local Tesla service center, and they should send a technician to get the charging cable disconnected and bring the car in to be checked over. Our guess is that the car might have detected the massive spike coming from the outside and shut down the vehicle's systems as a safety precaution.
We hope the car will be up and running as soon as possible, without major issues. Still, it's very unlucky to have you Model S hit by lightning, with some many electronic hardware that can be irreversibly damaged.
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