RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Re: This can't be goodDETROIT - A Tesla Model S spontaneously burst into flames Monday while on a test drive in France, according to French media reports. The car was being driven by a couple and a representative of Tesla as part of an event hosted by the California electric carmaker. The Model S sedan was cruising on the boulevard d'Aritxague in Bayonne in the southwest of France when the incident occurred.
The driver of the car told French media outlet Sud Ouest that after a little acceleration there was a warning noise in the car, at which point the Tesla host told the driver to pull over so she could call Tesla about the issue before continuing the test drive.
The trio then saw white smoke, and exited the vehicle. The driver, identified only as Nicolas, said the car was engulfed in flames in less than a minute and totally destroyed within five minutes. No one was injured.
So, I decided to have a closer look. This case is different from the three others in that there was no accident pior to the emission of smoke. So, if a metal object pierced the battery, that would be a surprise but who knows. Still, the sound within the car would most likely be a warning that Tesla has installed to get out of the car when there is a problem with the battery. That would mean that the battery is overheating - so, Tesla's separator has failed for some reason or another or, there is excessive current draw due to a defect somewhere external to the battery which may cause the battery to overheat. The previous cases with thermal runaway did not cause fire to consume the car entirely so this case is somewhat different. The problem could still be the battery but could also be initiated elsewhere.
Yes, I did see your comment on the battery, called a storage power plant.