Matchstick Tesla

On December 17, 2018 a Tesla Model S in Los Gatos, California, experienced a flat-tire. The car was towed to a tire shop. The owner said he started hearing a hissing sound while he was inside the tire shop taking care of the bill. The 3 month old Tesla Model S combusted into flames and had to be put out by the local fire department.

Soon after, fire officials worried that the battery could reignite itself and decided to wait for it to cool down before towing it out of the tire shop. They waited 6 hours before towing it to a new lot and then it caught fire again. After being put out the fire department had the Tesla under surveillance to ensure it wouldn’t play matchstick for a third time. The owner says that the Model S only has 1,200 miles.

Tesla has since stated that they are investigating the cause of the fire and are happy to hear that nobody was hurt. As to why this particular Model S decided to play pyro further details need to be released. If I had to take a guess, I would suspect that maybe the car was towed incorrectly to the tire shop. Certain electric vehicles need to be towed with all four wheels off the ground on a flatbed to avoid damage to the motor according to Green Car Reports.

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