Ugh. Another Model S fire - 2013-11-06

[tommolog]

Posted on Instagram from Tennessee. Happened at 4:00pm today

 

[Thread Summary]

Nov 6, 2013 7:45pm PST - Official statement from Tesla:

We have been in contact with the driver, who was not injured and believes the car saved his life. Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened. We will provide more information when we’re able to do so.

Nov. 7, 2013, 9:12 a.m. EST MARKET PULSE Archives

Tesla confirms third fire involving Model S car
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Telsa Motor Inc. TSLA -4.37% confirmed a third fire in one of its Model S electric cars in the past six weeks, Reuters reported. The electric-car maker said the fire was the result of an accident and took place in Smyrna, Tenn. on Wednesday afternoon. The driver wasn't injured. "Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened in the accident," Tesla spokeswoman Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean said in a statement, according to Reuters. "We will provide more information when we're able to do so."


Reuters is reporting November 6 Model S fire was an accident due to hitting metal on road.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/07/autos-tesla-fire-idUSL2N0IS0TL20131107?type=companyNews
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Thu Nov 7, 2013 8:52am EST

By Ben Klayman and Bernie Woodall
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Tesla Motor Inc's Model S electric car has suffered its third fire in six weeks.

The Tesla Motors Club website is running pictures and a story about another fire involving a Model S on Wednesday afternoon that a company spokeswoman confirmed. The accident occurred in Smyrna, Tennessee, where Nissan Motor Co makes the Leaf electric car.
Tesla said it has been in touch with the driver, who was not injured.
"Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened in the accident," Tesla spokeswoman Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean said in a statement. "We will provide more information when we're able to do so."
The company said the fire was the result of an accident and was not a spontaneous event.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the incident occurred on Interstate 24 in Smyrna around 1:30 pm.
"It's possible that it ran over a piece of metal in the roadway and it got up in the engine compartment," police dispatcher Kathy Bryant said. "There was extensive damage."
Police do not know how fast the 2013-model year car was traveling, but the driver was able to pull over to the shoulder and exit the car.

Nov. 7, 2013, 9:12 a.m. EST MARKET PULSE Archives

Tesla confirms third fire involving Model S car
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Telsa Motor Inc. TSLA -4.37% confirmed a third fire in one of its Model S electric cars in the past six weeks, Reuters reported. The electric-car maker said the fire was the result of an accident and took place in Smyrna, Tenn. on Wednesday afternoon. The driver wasn't injured. "Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened in the accident," Tesla spokeswoman Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean said in a statement, according to Reuters. "We will provide more information when we're able to do so."

Nov. 7, 2013, 10:35 a.m. Various sources

Tennessee Highway Patrol Spokesperson Saying Tesla Fire Was Caused by Car Running Over Tow Hitch, Metal Struck the Undercarriage

Tennessee Highway Patrol Spokesperson Saying Tesla Fire Was Caused by Car Running Over Tow Hitch, Metal Struck the Undercarriage | Benzinga

Nov. 7, 2013, 11:25 a.m. Bloomberg News

a Tennessee Highway Patrol spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. The driver, identified as Juris Shibayama, struck a tow hitch that was in the middle of a lane, which damaged the car’s undercarriage and caused the fire, Qualls said. Shibayama was able to pull the car over to the side and was uninjured, Qualls said.

Nov. 9 2013, Tesla Motors Blog By Juris Shibayama, MD

From the time of impact of the object until the time the car caught fire was about five minutes. During this time, the car warned me that it was damaged and instructed me to pull over. I never felt as though I was in any imminent danger

From a Model S owner in Tennessee | Blog | Tesla Motors

 

[AnOutsider]

Any details?

 

[Gizmotoy]

This one's a little disturbing. No serious front-end collision damage visible. The front crash bar is completely intact and un-bent, which would indicate it didn't rear end someone or have some other major frontal impact.

Another road debris fire? Maybe an offset frontal on the driver's side we can't see.

 

[efusco]

Oh man...

 

[tommolog]

Nope. Just these pics. It hasn't hit the news yet

 

[bhuwan]

man this isn't good. I hope the driver made it out safely.
mods can we edit title and add the date (nov 6)?

 

[stopcrazypp]

I guess it's time for another round of speculation and media reports.

 

[doug]

Not good to have them clustered like this.

 

[bhuwan]

Do we see debris all over the place?

 

[justaddsun]

Is that the owner standing to the left? Man, sad.

 

[Luder94]

S.O.B. .....I just spent last night debating away with friends last night over drinks that the first one was a fluke due to road debris and the second was operator error. I'll be waiting for a phone call to hear it from at least one of them tonight if this catches wind (or see it on my Facebook wall). Damn!

 

[gaswalla]

Folks need to drive closer to the speed limit. I bet Tesla could avoid a bunch of future accidents and fires if they allowed folks to self-limit the speed limit and maybe even the acceleration. B what I would call 'grandma mode' and 'valet mode'

 

[SeminoleFSU]

This changes a lot, as the first one was "freak", 2nd one was 100+MPH through concrete walls and into a tree.. but this... I sure hope in a few years we aren't driving the 21st century Delorean.... hard to get service on a car when the company is out of business.. $100k paperweight, etc, etc

 

[Kraken]

No details on this yet. Could be anything. Could be a repeat of the first, could be any of the things we speculated the first time, could be a setup, could be a lot of missing details.

 

[Dane Dad]

The rarity of a "normal collision" fire still stands true. The first two are exceptions (metal debris and concrete barrier). This third is an unknown. The speculation will run rampant tomorrow.

 

[Kraken]

There are vehicles pulled over ahead.... Maybe there is more involved.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

The cabin looks untouched. So hopefully the driver and the people inside the cabin should be OK.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

Man, the Kool-aid flows on these forums... HA. The car doesn't appear to have any collision damage... if you can run over any ol' junk metal in the road and catch fire, the public won't accept this car. Even IF running over a piece of debris has to be shaped just right, and in just the right place and would never happen again in another 10000^100 "ker clunks", it doesn't matter. Perception is reality for the sheeple.

 

[hershey101]

Instagram
She has 3 photos of the fire... Also the one on twitter on the first page. Definitely not photoshopped like some people were speculating on another thread. I'm burned so bad right now on my pre-earnings investments... Now this!