A Tesla owner in Texas has revealed how his five-year-old Model S suddenly went up in flames last month, renewing old concerns about the safety of the electric sedans.
Usmaan Ahmad told the Washington Post that he had just traveled down a thoroughfare in Frisco on Nov. 23, when he heard a series of loud metal bangs coming from beneath his 2015 Tesla Model S 85D.
Ahmad, 41, said he was pulling over on the side of the road to inspect the source of the noise when his car suddenly went up in flames, fireballs ‘like a flamethrower’ from the front passenger wheel.
Ahmad told Tesla he believes the car’s battery exploded, but the specific cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The frightening incident comes as one of many similar incidents involving older Model S and X vehicles in recent years that experts believe are related to the car’s battery.
Concerns have been routinely raised about the safety of the electric vehicles as they age, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating the incident involving Ahmad’s car, the Post said.
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Usmaan Ahmad said he quit after hearing a series of loud bangs from beneath his Tesla Model S. Moments after getting out of car reportedly going up in flames ‘like a flamethrower’
Ahmad’s 2015 Model Tesla S is completely engulfed in smoke just before firefighters arrived on the scene
Ahmad told Tesla he believes the car’s battery exploded, but the specific cause of the fire has yet to be determined
The NHTSA previously opened an investigation into alleged battery defects that could cause fires in older models of Tesla sedans and SUVs.
The probe was spurred by a lawsuit alleging that the company founded by Elon Musk had manipulated its battery technology in older model cars from 2012 to 2019 by reducing the range of the battery and increasing charging times to fix an unspecified defect. to pack.
A lawyer who has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Tesla owners has filed the petition with the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation, citing an “ alarming number of car fires ” that appeared to be spontaneous.
Although the agency agreed to investigate the matter last year, few details have since been disclosed about the status of the investigation.
To Ahmad, he said he had been driving his Model S for a few seconds before it ignited. The business development officer told the Post that his battery was about 60 percent charged at the time and that he had been driving lightly on the way home.
He immediately called 911, and firefighters were on the scene within minutes.
Witness Robert Watson also called emergency services after seeing black smoke coming from the vehicle as it drove past.
“It looked like the back of a jet engine with the afterburner coming out of that front passenger wheel,” Watson told the Post.
There was another problem, according to Ahmad. While firefighters were trying to put out the flames, someone is said to have asked him how to get into the cabin.
Model S Tesla’s doors are operated with retractable handles that pop out when they detect a nearby key fob. Ahmad tried to use the fob but it didn’t work.
According to Ahmad, the firefighter told him he was lucky to get out of the car when he did, otherwise he might be trapped in the burning vehicle.
According to Ahmad, a firefighter told him he was lucky to get out of the car when he did, otherwise he could be trapped in the burning vehicle.
A scorched march can be seen on the ground where Ahmad’s car caught fire
The NHTSA previously opened an investigation into alleged battery faults that could cause fires in older models of Tesla sedans and SUVs (pictured above, a 2015 Model S on the factory line in Tilburg, The Netherlands)
Firefighters reportedly got the blaze under control in about 10 minutes.
The car was completely destroyed by the fire and is currently on an insurance lot.
Ahmad said he is still waiting for a word on the cause of the fire. However, he told the Post that Tesla has reportedly not been proactive in investigating the fire.
He wrote to a Tesla representative on Nov. 25, two days after the fire, that he believed the ‘battery exploded’.
The representative said they were happy to be safe and said the company would investigate the matter, but Tesla has since reportedly mentioned a series of insurance hurdles that have stopped the probe.
Ahmad said he hopes the company can get around the problem to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else, including his parents, who reportedly own a Tesla Model X SUV.
“I don’t want anyone else to experience something so scary,” he told the Post.
Tesla has previously argued that its cars are 10 times less likely to catch fire than gasoline cars, citing data from the National Fire Protection Association and the US Federal Highway Administration.
However, when an electric car does catch fire, the duration and intensity of the fire – fueled by chemicals and the extreme heat that builds up in lithium-ion batteries – can make it more challenging to put them out.
In an emergency guide published on its website, Tesla writes, ‘It can take up to 24 hours for battery fires to be put out. Consider leaving the battery on while protecting the lighting. ‘
Tesla has also come under fire for concerns that its computer-controlled cars have made emergency response more challenging, with features such as retractable door handles.
In South Florida, driver Omar Awan was killed in 2019 after becoming trapped in his 2016 Model S after it caught fire and the door’s electronic door handles fail to extend after a crash.
In South Florida, racing driver Omar Awan was killed in 2019 after becoming trapped in his 2016 Model S after it caught fire and the door’s electronic door handles failed to extend after a crash.
Awan was burned beyond recognition and could not be rescued. His family filed a wrongful lawsuit against the company, claiming that the design feature caused his death rather than the crash itself.
Two teens also died in a Tesla fire in South Florida in 2018. The family of one of the victims claimed the car’s battery was defective and sued Tesla.
His family filed a wrongful lawsuit against the company, claiming that the design feature caused his death rather than the crash itself.
His car was later taken to a confiscated property where the battery re-ignited at least three times, the Florida Sun Sentinel reported at the time.
Likewise, a fatal crash in Fort Lauderdale in 2018 saw the family of one of the two victims suing Tesla over their son’s battery malfunctioning.
“The Tesla S sedan had insufficient measures to prevent a fire after a collision and not enough measures to contain a fire,” said attorney Philip Corboy Jr, one of the attorneys representing the parents.
Similar cases of Models S bursting into flames seemingly spontaneously have also been reported outside the US, including in Shanghai, where a sedan caught fire in a parking garage before exploding.
Similarly, in Los Angeles in 2018, a Model S caught fire in traffic, shooting fire from the wheel arch.
At the time, Tesla called the incident an “extremely unusual occurrence.”
Tesla has not yet returned a request from DailyMail.com for comment on Ahmad’s claims.