Video Captures Curious Tesla Model S Explosion

As you can clearly see, this Model S is parked in a parking structure and very suddenly starts to flame up. Within mere seconds, the car seems to explode (or does it?). The video was originally posted by Twitter user Jay in Shanghai. We've included his tweet below, which has an additional video with the aftermath.

Jay also states that Tesla was contacted and, of course, he hoped the automaker would respond and report promptly. According to a follow-up tweet, Tesla did respond via its weibo.com account. The above CNBC broadcast also verifies that Tesla sent an investigation team right away.

Whether or not electric cars pose a fire risk has been up for debate for years. As far as some research shows, an EV may not be any more likely to catch fire than a gas-powered car. In fact, it's been suggested on many occasions that it's less likely. However, when these cars do burst into flames, it's a difficult and lengthy process to put out the fire.

This particular situation is interesting since the car wasn't involved in a collision. It also appears that the car is not charging. We can't be 100-percent sure of that, but it doesn't even look like there's a charging station where the Model S is parked. Some reports suggest possible arson, but we can't confirm that at this point in time either.

Once we learn more about the situation, we'll update this article or publish another story.

Video Description via CNBC Television on YouTube (top of page):

Tesla to investigate apparent Model S explosion in China

Tesla says it immediately sent a team to investigate an apparent explosion of one of its cars that occurred in Shanghai on Sunday evening local time. CNBC's "Squawk Box" discusses.

Source: Electrek