Model 3 vehicles made by Tesla China are on display during a delivery event at its facility in Shanghai, China on Jan. 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – A Tesla Model 3 exploded in an underground car park in Shanghai on Tuesday, Chinese media reported.
No people were injured in the fire, Tesla said in a statement to the Chinese media. Preliminary analysis shows the accident was caused by an impact on the underside of the car, the automaker added in the reports.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. It was not immediately clear whether the affected Model 3 was a locally manufactured or imported version.
Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it did not make the battery for the car, which spontaneously burned up, according to Chinese media.
Scattered accident reports
A number of Tesla cars have exploded over the years, including in the US
In April 2019, Tesla sent a team to investigate the apparent explosion of one of its parked vehicles in Shanghai.
Elon Musk’s electric cars have been scrutinized in China for other reasons such as their self-driving technology. Earlier this month, the state-run business information daily said in a comment that there were at least 10 reports in 2020 that drivers had lost control of their Tesla vehicles in China.