In a shocking incident, a Tesla Model Y spontaneously caught fire on a California highway, leaving the owner, Bishal Malla, scrambling for answers from a largely unresponsive customer service team. Incredibly, Elon Musk’s Tesla asked him to bring the charred ruin left after a battery fire into a company service center. The owner responded, “How in the world am I going to do that?”
Breitbart News previously reported this month that a Tesla Model Y spontaneously caught fire on a California highway, leaving the owner, Bishal Malla, scrambling for answers from a largely unresponsive customer service team.
Elon Musk shades his eyes in front of a Tesla ( Maja Hitij /Getty)
Malla was driving his Tesla on May 6 when he felt the car shaking. Initially suspecting a flat tire, he pulled over, only to discover smoke billowing from the bottom of the vehicle. Within minutes, the entire car was engulfed in flames.
Business Insider reports that in the aftermath of the incident, Malla reached out to Tesla’s customer service for answers. However, he reported that his attempts to communicate with the company were met with silence. Despite contacting the company multiple times, Malla said he received “no follow-ups.”
“One agent I talked to had the audacity to tell me to take my fully burned Tesla to the Tesla recommended servicing center,” Malla said. “How in the world am I going to do that?”
Malla expressed his need for answers from Tesla, not only for his own situation but also to prevent others from experiencing similar incidents. “Yes, insurance will cover the car, but I need to hear from Tesla,” Malla said. “All I need is the answer from them and protect others to not go through the same issue.”
Reflecting on the incident, Malla told the NBC-affiliated TV channel KCRA 3 that he was lucky to be alive and “speechless” at what had happened. “If this had happened 30 minutes later, my whole family would be in there,” he said, adding that he was driving home to take his wife and two children to a family gathering.
As of the time of writing, representatives for Tesla have not responded to requests for comment on the incident.
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan