Sparks Fly on Tesla Shares After Third Model S Fire

The accident occurred yesterday on Interstate 21 in Smyrna, Tennessee around 1:30 pm, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol. Patrol dispatcher Kathy Bryant commented, “It's possible that it ran over a piece of metal in the roadway.” The road metal scraping the Model S's metal undercarriage may have sparked the initial flame.

In a blog after the first accident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted, “For consumers concerned about fire risk, there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery.”

Tesla dropped 10 percent following the first crash, and plunged 15 percent yesterday. Shares fell to $140.50, the lowest intraday price since mid-August. Over the past few days, trading has averaged 25 million shares per day.