Model 3 vehicles made by Tesla in China are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, China, on January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – A Tesla Model 3 exploded in an underground residential parking lot in Shanghai on Tuesday, Chinese media reported.
No one was injured in the fire, Tesla said in a statement to Chinese media. A preliminary analysis indicates that the accident was caused by an impact on the underside of the car, the automaker added in the reports.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC. It was not immediately clear whether the affected Model 3 was a locally made or imported version.
Chinese battery-making giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it did not make the battery for the car that spontaneously combusted, according to Chinese media.
Scattered accident reports
Several Tesla cars have exploded over the years, including in the USA
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 are under scrutiny in China for other reasons, such as his autonomous driving technology. Earlier this month, the state-owned Economic Information Daily said in a commentary article that there were at least 10 reports in 2020 of drivers losing control of their Tesla vehicles in China.