Video Shows Tesla Model S Blowing Up in a Shanghai Parking Lot

After the incident with a Model X catching fire for the second time in Pittsburgh last week and the apparent explosion of the Crew Dragon during a fire test in Cape Canaveral over the weekend, news a Model S spontaneously combusting in a Shanghai parking lot surfaced on the Internet this weekend.

According to Fox Business, a video of the incident surfaces on a Chinese social media platform called Weibo on Sunday. The video seems to be showing images from a CCTV camera that overlooks a Model S, two Audi’s and a Volvo in a parking lot.

The timestamp on the CCTV footage reads April 21, 2019, meaning the incident is fresh. Images show a lot of white smoke billowing up from underneath the car, from where the battery should be, until a violent explosion blinds the camera for a split second.

When the image recovers, we see the Model S engulfed in flames that extend to the nearby Audi. For some reason, the image then freezes.

Tesla neither confirmed nor denied the incident, but it said it sent a team in to investigate.

"We immediately sent a team onsite and we're supporting local authorities to establish the facts. From what we know now, no one was harmed," the company was quoted as saying by the source.

The incident comes at a time when Tesla is trying to establish itself as one of the leaders of the EV movement in China. In January, Elon Musk took part in the ground-breaking ceremony for the Shanghai Gigafactory 3, the company’s first major overseas operation for car manufacturing.

Short of finding a serious fault in its vehicles, it’s unlikely though the incident will have any major impact on the company’s business in the world’s largest car market.