Model 3 vehicles manufactured by Tesla in China are on display during a delivery ceremony at the factory in Shanghai, China on January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – A Tesla Model 3 exploded in an underground residential parking garage in Shanghai on Tuesday, Chinese media reported.
No one was injured in the blaze, Tesla said in a statement to Chinese media. Preliminary analysis indicates the accident was caused by an impact to the bottom of the car, the automaker added to the reports.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC. It was not immediately known whether the affected Model 3 was a locally manufactured or imported version.
According to Chinese media, Chinese battery manufacturing giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it did not manufacture the car’s battery that burned spontaneously.
Scattered accident reports
Several Tesla cars have exploded over the years, including the United States
In April 2019, Tesla sent a team to investigate the apparent explosion of one of its vehicles parked in Shanghai.
Elon Musk’s electric cars have been brought under control in China for other reasons, such as its self-driving technology. Earlier this month, the state-owned Economic Information Daily said in a comment that there were at least ten reports in 2020 of drivers losing control of their Tesla vehicles in China.