Fair Or Not, Tesla Fire Sparks Concern Among Consumers

On behalf of Lovett Law Firm posted in Car Accidents on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

Tesla Model S, an electric car known for its exemplary performance in government sponsored crash tests, recently became the icon for the dangers of driving an electric car as a result of an auto accident in Washington. The accident occurred on Tuesday, on a highway outside Seattle, when the vehicle struck a large piece of metal in the road and subsequently caught fire.

Apparently the metal object punctured a hole in the batter pack that sits on the underside of the car. Luckily, the driver was not injured, perhaps because of the warning system build into the vehicle, which alerted him to danger. Unfortunately for Tesla, the fire was caught on video and posted to YouTube, causing a good deal of negative media coverage, and even a subsequent decrease in stock prices.

The negative response to the incident is not entirely fair, since no other car fires have been reported for Model S electric cars, of which more than 13,000 have been sold. Overall, the Model S is a very safe vehicle, having received good scores on government crash tests.

But for the average consumer, an incident like this is still somewhat concerning. At the very least, it is a reminder of the potential dangers that exist when one gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. In a car accident, a vehicle malfunction can add to otherwise serious injuries that are inevitable.

Those who are harmed in motor vehicle accidents sometimes have cause to seek out compensation from manufacturers responsible for flaws in the vehicle’s functioning. Such lawsuits are separate from personal injury lawsuits, but they can certainly be related to the same incident.

Source: Consumer Reports, “Tesla Model S fire sparks safety concern,” Jeff Bartlett