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Tesla Model S Plaid that Caught Fire Almost Trapped His Owner Inside

We are still waiting for more information on the Tesla Model S fire that happened in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Still, a lawyer from California tweeted that he represents the owner of that vehicle. Ben Meiselas works with Geragos & Geragos and said his client had the very first Model S Plaid in the 250 that were initially shipped.
Tesla Model S Plaid Fire 8 photos
Photo: Gladwyne Volunteer Fire Company
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According to Meiselas, his client was trapped inside the vehicle when it caught fire at night on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. Thanks to the Gladwyne Volunteer Fire Company, we know that it happened almost at 9 PM. Check his tweet below.


Meiselas said his client managed to escape. That may explain why some people said it was moving while on fire: his owner had no time to think about braking it or anything else. The attorney then said that they are trying to contact Tesla since the blaze broke and that the company is ignoring them until now.

We got in touch with Meiselas to speak to his client and understand everything that happened. What his tweet made very clear is that it was not a criminal fire of any kind: as the lawyer puts it, the Model S Plaid “spontaneously combusted.”

At this point, we are glad that the Model S Plaid customer managed to escape the car. On April 16, 2021, William Varner and Everett Talbot died in Harris County, Texas. They crashed Varner’s Model S in a three, but none of the bodies was found at the driver’s seat. The crash is still under investigation, but one of the hypotheses was that Varner left the driver’s seat to try to escape and died in the rear seat.

The Pennsylvania blaze is the first involving a Model S Plaid but joins a long list of other cases with the electric sedan. The latest spontaneous fire that came to our attention happened on November 24, 2020, in Frisco, Texas.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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