Tesla investigating after video shows vehicle exploding in car park
The company says it immediately sent a team to look into the incident and establish the facts.
Monday 22 April 2019 13:58, UK
Tesla is urgently investigating a video that appears to show one of its cars exploding in a Shanghai car park.
The video, first posted to social media in China, shows a Tesla Model S billowing smoke and then bursting into flames.
According to the timestamp on the video, it was recorded on Sunday evening.
The footage also shows serious damage caused to the cars parked next to the Tesla.
The video's authenticity has not yet been verified and the cause of the apparent explosion is unclear.
However, a spokesperson for Telsa told Sky News: "We immediately sent a team onsite and we're supporting local authorities to establish the facts.
"From what we know now, no one was harmed," they added.
The spokesperson declined to comment on whether the incident would be raised with investors - the company's first quarterly report of the year is just days away.
The video went viral on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, where users joked about being wary of parking next to a Tesla.
The electric car manufacturer is aiming to increase sales in China, which currently provides 20% of its revenues, but has had difficulties following trade disagreements between Beijing and Washington.
It currently imports all of its cars from the US, but a planned factory in Shanghai is expected to allow it to reduce its exposure to import tariffs.
According to Reuters, there have been at least 14 instances of Tesla's electric vehicles catching fire since 2013 - with the majority of these occurring after the vehicle was involved in a crash.
The car in the latest explosion video appears to be undamaged.
Tesla claims that its cars are 10 times less likely to experience a fire than traditional vehicles, although it is unclear whether those figures reference typical usage or in the incident of a crash.