
A video on YouTube showed the fire that consumed the front end of a Model S, apparently after roadway debris damaged the battery pack.
Roadway debris is tentatively catching the blame for a fire that seriously damaged a Tesla Model S being driven in a Seattle suburb – with that news, combined with new concerns about the battery-carmaker’s high-flying stock sending the price of shares plunging by more than 6%.
The fire itself raised serious concerns about the safety of not just the Tesla Model S, but about the use of lithium-ion batteries in general. There have been problems with other vehicles using the technology, while Boeing was forced to ground its new 787 Dreamliner earlier this year because of fires involving the jet’s first-of-its-king lithium battery system.
According to a report by Washington State Police, a motorist was driving a Tesla Model S equipped with the company longest-range, 85 kilowatt-hour battery. After apparently striking some metallic debris on the road, the owner began to smell smoke, police were later told, parked the vehicle and exited. The vehicle reportedly then caught fire.