Tesla Says Investigating Car Explosion In Shanghai

Image copyright Getty Images

Tesla said it is investigating a video on Chinese social media that appears to show one of its vehicles bursting into flames in Shanghai.

In a statement, the carmaker said it had sent a team to investigate the matter, and that there were no reported casualties.

The video, which has not been verified by the BBC, showed a stationary car erupting into flames in a parking lot.

Tesla did not confirm the car model but social media identified it as Model S.

"After learning about the incident in Shanghai, we immediately sent the team to the scene last night," according to a translation of a Tesla statement posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

"We are actively contacting relevant departments and supporting the verification. According to current information, there are no casualties."

The video showed smoke rising from a parked, white vehicle and seconds later it bursts into flames.

The time stamp on the video shows the incident happened on Sunday night, local time (Sunday morning GMT).

Previous incidents involving Tesla vehicles catching on fire seem to have happened while the cars were moving.

In 2018, a Tesla car driven by British TV director Michael Morris burst into flames, following another such incident involving a Model S model in France in 2016.

A series of fires involving Tesla Model S cars took place in 2013.