Tesla reports third fire involving Model S electric car - lithium battery pack
DETROIT (Reuters )-
Tesla Motor Company (TSLA)
O) the Model S electric vehicle suffered a third fire in six weeks, causing its share price to fall nearly 9% in trading at noon on Thursday.
Tesla Motor Club's website has pictures and stories of another fire that a company spokesman confirmed.
The accident occurred Wednesday at the Nissan Motor Company (7201) in Smyrna, Tennessee.
T) make a Leaf electric car.
While the driver was not injured in all accidents, Tesla did not welcome a striking title about the fire.
"For a company whose share price is based on image rather than finance, these recurring headlines are extremely disruptive," said Carl Brewer, senior analyst at Kelly's Blue Book . ".
Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said the United States may conduct a formal investigation. S.
Safety regulators may
In terms of cost, image and production disruption, there is a higher level of attention to the word.
Tesla said it had contacted a driver who had not been injured.
According to the Highway Patrol, the car was driven by Juris Shibayama, 38, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Tesla spokesman Elizabeth Jarvis said: "Our team is going to Tennessee to learn more about the accident . "
She said in a statement.
"We will provide more information when we can do this.
The company said the fire was caused by an accident and did not happen spontaneously.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said that the afternoon incident occurred on Interstate 24 in Smyrna when the electric vehicle "hit a trailer hook" and "hit the chassis of the vehicle,
"The S-type chassis has an armor layer that protects lithium --
Ion battery pack.
Tesla said that it does not know whether the fire is related to the car battery.
Tesla's battery pack consists of small lithium batteries.
The laptop also uses ion batteries, which are not used by other car manufacturers.
The battery pack extends to the bottom of the vehicle.
In contrast, GM. N) uses large-
Format the battery in T-
Shape of Chevrolet Volt plug Center-in hybrid car.
Other automakers have dealt with battery fires for electrified vehicles including GM and Mitsubishi Motors (7211. T) i-MiEV.
The highway patrol report did not say how fast 2013 Tesla model S traveled in Tennessee, but the driver was able to pull down the road and get off.
The accident happened four miles from the Nissan factory exit.
A woman answered the phone in the parking lot where the car was towed away, saying Tesla officials had arrived Thursday morning and were checking the vehicle.
Tesla predicted a weaker economy on Tuesday. than-Expected Fourth
Third Quarter Profit
Quarterly Model delivery disappointed some analysts.
On October 1, the first Model S fire occurred near Seattle, when the car collided with a large piece of metal debris on the road that made a hole in the steel plate protecting the battery pack. U. S.
The safety regulator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration later said they had not found any evidence that the vehicle was defective.
Later this month, a second fire broke out in Merida, Mexico, and it was reported that a car hit a concrete wall and hit a tree through a roundabout.
Neither driver was injured in the previous accident, in which the company said the owner had asked for a replacement.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk defended the safety of electric vehicles after the first fire.
"For consumers concerned about the risk of fire, there is no doubt that it is safer to use batteries to power cars than conventional gasoline --
He said in a blog post.
Company executives say the first fire was a "very rare event" that could have been caused by curved metal objects from half
The trailer and the car that hit the bottom are in a "pole. vault effect.
"At the time, Musk did not say whether Tesla would make any changes to the Model S battery design because of the first accident. Jarvis-
When asked if such a change was considered, Shean did not comment immediately.
Tesla shares fell to $137. 62 on Nasdaq.
Tesla's stock has fallen more than 27% since the first fire, and this week's decline is the worst --
The week has fallen since May 2012.
It will be easier for Dr. Dipa Seetharaman;
Gerald E. editor