Tesla (TSLA – Get Report) said Monday it has sent a team of investigators to take a closer look at a parked Model S sedan that appears to have self-combusted in a ball of flames.
In a video, time stamped Sunday evening and widely shared on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, a first-generation Model S sedan parked in a Shanghai garage appears to begin to emit smoke, and seconds later bursts into flames.
The video began circulating Sunday night (April 21), and posts with the hashtag #Tesla self-ignites” or 特斯拉自燃, had drawn nearly 18 million views as of early Monday.
https://twitter.com/ShanghaiJayin/status/1119997229530406913?
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,” Tesla said in a statement on Monday.
There have been at least 14 instances of Tesla cars catching fire since 2013, with the majority occurring after a crash.
Tesla shares were down 2.07% to $267.60 in premarket trading on Monday after ending the trading day Thursday at $273.26 (U.S. stock markets were closed Friday for Good Friday).
