A Tesla Model Y, valued at almost $60,000, spontaneously burst into flames on a residential street in Ilford, North London, sparking concerns about the safety of Elon Musk’s electric vehicles.
The Daily Mail reports that on Sunday morning, a Tesla Model Y was seen engulfed in flames and emitting black smoke. The electric vehicle, parked on the side of the street in Perth Road, Ilford, North London, appeared to have burst into flames without any apparent cause.
Electric car batteries use lithium-ion technology, which is potentially dangerous and fires in electric vehicles are already more frequent than for petrol and diesel vehicles
Electric car worth over £45K ‘self-combusts’ in flames in Ilford, North Londonhttps://t.co/qLieQMHJ9J
— Neil Hamilton (@NeilUKIP) July 16, 2023
Eugenio Mereu, a local resident and owner of a similar Tesla model, witnessed the incident. Mereu said that the fire was so strong his family could hear it crackling from their house. “There was a bit of a commotion and I went outside and it had caught on fire, completely. It looks like it’s self-combusted, it literally started a fire on its own,” Mereu said, describing the incident. “It’s scary because I’ve actually got the exact same car, it’s slightly concerning that it could just catch fire, and a really strong fire.”
He captured the incident on camera at around 9.26 a.m. Mereu now worries his own Tesla may be in danger of erupting into flames as it matches his neighbors almost exactly, “same car, same colour, same year,” Mereu said. The local police and three fire engines attended the scene.
The London resident described the car as a Tesla Model Y, which reportedly has a starting price of around $60,000 in the UK.
This is not an isolated incident. Earlier in May this year, another Tesla dramatically erupted in flames on a California highway. The driver reported that the vehicle began to “shake” before smoke started billowing out from under the car.
Tesla Sacramento fire (Sacramento Fire Department)
A website dedicated to documenting Tesla fires claims that 204 Tesla fires have been reported in the media.
Read more at the Daily Mail here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan