Another Tesla Model S Self-Ignites, Now In Texas: Owners Want Answers

Subia Ahmad said on Twitter her husband heard loud bangs and left the EV before it caught fire.

Gustavo Henrique Ruffo

By: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo

Dec 15, 2020 at 2:54pm ET

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It is not unusual to see people going to Twitter to ask Elon Musk or Tesla for help with their cars. There’s a lot of trivial and even silly requests, but that was not Subia Ahmad’s case. On November 24, her husband was driving their 2015 Model S when he heard loud bangs coming from it. Usmaan Ahmad pulled over immediately to check what was going on just to watch his car burn. On December 13, Subia asked for explanations.

Thanks to the quick response of the Frisco Fire Department, the car did not burn down completely. Subia made many pictures of the incident, and they reveal most of the damage was on the passenger side, precisely where she would be sitting if she was riding with Usmaan. He almost took their kids with him.

The fire cause has apparently not been officially determined so far, but Subia tweeted on December 13 that she and her husband assume “the car battery exploded.” We have tried to contact both of them but received no answer so far.

For those who always ask why this is relevant, the answer is simple: Tesla is being sued for allegedly trying to conceal a battery pack defect that could make them burst into flames. After a Model S caught fire in a parking lot in Shanghai, Tesla announced software updates 2019.16.1 or 2019.16.2 for the sedan and also for the Model X.

More News on Tesla Model S Battery Pack Issues:

Another Tesla Model S Burns: Coral Gables Fire Department Films Rescue

These updates’ main goal would have been to cap the cells’ voltage to avoid a thermal runaway. Consequently, that also restricted the cars’ range, which led owners like David Rasmussen to sue Tesla. His lawyer, Edward Chen, required NHTSA to perform a battery investigation that has started last November. Ahmad’s Model S could be another case of “non-crash fire,” as the agency put it.

What do you think?

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The Frisco Police Department is probably in charge of the investigation. It is not clear if Tesla will help them with that, but Subia’s tweets give us the impression the company still did not get involved with that so far. NHTSA might also want to check this case due to its investigation on the batteries. We’ll report if we hear from any of them.

Source: Subia Ahmad’s Twitter

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