Tesla EV Catches Fire In China, Resulting In One Death: Report

A video of a Tesla Inc. TSLA sedan catching fire following a collision that killed a passenger in Guangzhou has gone viral in China, cnEVpost reported Wednesday.

What Happened: According to the report, the video shows a Tesla sedan overtaking a moving car from behind, hitting a concrete bridge on the side of the road, and then catching fire. The car eventually burned to an empty frame. The accident occurred at around 10 p.m. (Beijing time) on April 17.

The Tesla was driven by a 33-year-old male driver and was carrying a male passenger, according to Guangzhou police, the report said. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Tesla reportedly said it is cooperating with the police to investigate the incident.

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What It Matters: There have been reports of Tesla vehicles catching fire before. In January, a Model 3 car exploded in an underground residential parking garage in Shanghai. Tesla said preliminary analysis suggested that the Model 3 combustion was caused by a damaged battery pack from an impact on the car’s underside.

Of late, Tesla has been facing issues in China, its second-largest market. The Chinese government has recently restricted access for Tesla vehicles to military and state-owned facilities amid fears that cameras installed in the vehicles will collect sensitive information.

Tesla also suffered a backlash at the Shanghai Auto show on Monday, with protestors alleging their vehicles were plagued by malfunctioning brakes.

In February, Chinese officials raised concerns about safety issues with Tesla related to rapid acceleration and battery fires after it investigated two Tesla subsidiaries.

The Elon Musk-led company has been drawing increasing attention over its vehicle safety in the U.S. too. A fatal crash in Texas last weekend is the 28th Tesla accident to be investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), according to a report by Reuters.

See also: How to Invest in Tesla Stock

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 3.5% higher in Wednesday’s regular trading session at $744.12, but declined 0.4% in the after-hours session to $740.95.

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