Tesla to Roll Out Battery Update in Wake of Fires

The announcement was made on Thursday (May 16) by Tesla. The update is a global one, meaning cars wearing these nameplates will be updated across the world.

The carmaker did not say that there is something wrong with the current settings and added that the update is only a precaution.

“As we continue our investigation of the root cause, out of an abundance of caution, we are revising charge and thermal management settings on Model S and Model X vehicles via an over-the-air software update that will begin rolling out today, to help further protect the battery and improve battery longevity,” Tesla said in a statement according to CNN.

Problems for the carmaker started in April in Shanghai. Back then a video surfaced showing a parked Model S spontaneously combusting in a parking lot, right next to other cars. Last Sunday, another Tesla caught fire in Hong Kong.

The carmaker sticks to its original position that its electric cars are ten times less likely to catch fire than those powered by a conventional internal combustion engine. Should a fire still occur, “it spreads very slowly, and vents heat away from the cabin, alerting occupants that there is an issue and giving them enough time to exit the vehicle."

That was clearly not the case in the Shanghai incident, as the images show the fire starting as tons of white smoke billowing up from underneath the car, then transforming into what can be considered some type of explosion.

No official explanation about what might have caused this was given.