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Tesla Motors shares dropped Monday after reports of a second fiery crash involving the company's Model S electric car.

On Oct. 17 in Merida, Mexico, a Model S sped into a roundabout, crashed through a concrete wall and hit a tree. The driver fled the scene before the car went up in flames. The U.S. automotive Web site Jalopnik reported the story Monday, citing the Mexican newspaper Progreso Hoy.

Tesla responded that the Model S protected the driver despite the severe, high-speed crash.

"He is appreciative of the safety and performance of the car and has asked if we can expedite delivery of his next Model S," a Tesla spokeswoman said.

It was the second time this month that a Model S ? Tesla's only vehicle on the market right now ? was in a fiery crash. On Oct. 2, a Model S burned after hitting road debris in Kent, Wash.

In that case, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the fire started when a curved metal object punched a 3-inch hole through the armored plate that protects the battery. The car contained the blaze to one section of the battery, and the driver was able to get out before flames engulfed the front of the car.

Musk added that fires are much more common in vehicles with conventional gas engines.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week that it doesn't plan to investigate the Oct. 2 incident because there is no indication that it was caused by a safety defect or that the Model S is violating federal safety standards.

The agency doesn't investigate accidents outside the U.S., but does collect information on foreign crashes from automakers or from police in those locations.

Tesla shares fell 4 percent to close at $162.86. They have fallen 16 percent since the Oct. 2 crash.
 
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On Oct. 17 in Merida, Mexico, a Model S sped into a roundabout, crashed through a concrete wall and hit a tree. The driver fled the scene before the car went up in flames. 

 

And because some idiot can't drive the stock market goes crazy? God help us all. What a non-story.

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Sad - just test drove a Model S (P 85), and what a car. I was a little disappointed with the performance though. 

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And because some idiot can't drive the stock market goes crazy? God help us all. What a non-story.

 

That has nothing to do with it.  The issue is, accidents do happen in cars, often.  And when these ones crash, they go up in flames, where normal cars rarely do in a regular driving accident of this nature.

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That has nothing to do with it.  The issue is, accidents do happen in cars, often.  And when these ones crash, they go up in flames, where normal cars rarely do in a regular driving accident of this nature.

 

Actually statistically speaking, gas powered cars go up in flames at quite a bit higher rate than these do. Not to mention both Tesla crashes have kept their drivers much safer than many competitors cars would've in a similar situation fire or not.

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Actually statistically speaking, gas powered cars go up in flames at quite a bit higher rate than these do. Not to mention both Tesla crashes have kept their drivers much safer than many competitors cars would've in a similar situation fire or not.

 

Didn't one of these burst into flames recently in a very light accident?

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Didn't one of these burst into flames recently in a very light accident?

 

Article points that accident and no, it wasn't a very light accident.

 

Also i would like to see how many cars burned up this past month because of accidents. Yep, more than Tesla. Was it news? nope.

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Article points that accident and no, it wasn't a very light accident.

 

Also i would like to see how many cars burned up this past month because of accidents. Yep, more than Tesla. Was it news? nope.

 

Of course there were more than Tesla, what have they sold, 10 of them?

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Of course there were more than Tesla, what have they sold, 10 of them?

 

according to the all knowing internet

 

Since its introduction, cumulative sales reached 12,700 units through June 2013, with most units delivered in the U.S.
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Third Tesla Model S fire raises fresh questions, NHTSA query

 

Another Tesla Model S involved in a traffic crash caught fire near Smyrna, Tenn., on Wednesday after an apparent strike by road debris ? the third such report in six weeks. As with the previous two cases, the news sparked a reaction from investors, who sent Tesla shares plunging, and Tesla itself, which said no one was injured and that it was investigating the cause.

But this latest incident does raise a troubling comparison for Tesla's 19,000 Model S owners: Even though it has fewer electric cars on the road than its competitors, none have reported similar fires after crashes. And while liquid-fueled vehicles suffer about 170,000 such fires every year, federal data show they take place in only 0.1 percent of all crashes.

"To have one instance of fire from road debris is a fluke," said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety. "To have two road debris fires in a vehicle population that small is highly unusual."

On Tuesday, Tesla said it had delivered more than 19,000 Model S sedans to date, with demand running well ahead of its ability to build cars. Tesla spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean said the automaker had been in contact with the Tennessee driver of the wrecked Model S "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 in the accident. We will provide more information when we?re able to do so," she said.

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I love how Tesla is getting special attention for car accident fires. It's not gasoline powered cars CAN'T catch on fire after they get into accident :rolleyes:

 

Now, if they were spontaneously combusting, that would be a problem (tsk tsk Fisker)

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Tesla car fires 'definitely' will not lead to recall -CEO

DETROIT, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc willnot recall its Model S electric car despite three vehicle firesthat raised safety questions and hurt the automaker's stockprice, CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday.

"There's definitely not going to be a recall," Musk saidduring a New York Times DealBook conference televised on CNBC."There's no reason for a recall, I believe."

Three Model S fires have been reported since early October,most recently in Tennessee last week. Two fires occurred afterthe Model S driver ran over a piece of debris that damaged thecar's battery pack.

After Musk's comments, the U.S. National Highway TrafficSafety Administration reiterated that it was gatheringinformation about the third fire.

NHTSA is also communicating with Tesla and Tennesseeauthorities to determine if additional action is needed, such asa deeper probe that may lead to a recall.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-car-fires-definitely-not-225101839.html

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it's a battery problem. they need to find better ways to protect it.

It's protected by a 1/4 inch bottom plate. Had these fires happened in a typical gasoline car, it most likely would've caught fire too. You just don't hear about the 150k automobile fires that happen in the US, because it's so freaking common. Contrast that to the number of Tesla's that have caught fire.

 

The problem here is consumers here are stupid and/or uneducated about the Model S design. Most people just see these fires and lose confidence in the Model S engineering/design. It is actually one of the safest cars on the road today.

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It's protected by a 1/4 inch bottom plate. Had these fires happened in a typical gasoline car, it most likely would've caught fire too. You just don't hear about the 150k automobile fires that happen in the US, because it's so freaking common. Contrast that to the number of Tesla's that have caught fire.

 

The problem here is consumers here are stupid and/or uneducated about the Model S design. Most people just see these fires and lose confidence in the Model S engineering/design. It is actually one of the safest cars on the road today.

 

perhaps. i think there are ways that they can help stop these fires. maybe an on-board extinguisher that douses the batteries when it senses a collision.

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This is one of those stories that really sounds bad, until you compare it to the reality of the norm. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, not to mention all conventional vehicles, are much more likely to catch on fire than a Tesla.

The NHTSA/NTSB takes fires very seriously, and they didn't say that the Model S was the safest car ever tested as long as it doesn't catch on fire. It's simply just the safest car ever tested.

Can Tesla do more to prevent fires, sure. But, it's not like Tesla did too little to prevent fires in the first place.

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People are idiots. It's time to invest in TSLA! :D

 

Actually, the big boat sailed away about a year ago when this sticker was below $35  :D before reaching a high of $190. These days, it's trading at a modest discount ($135-140) which is good because there's room for some moderate growth.  

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