Tesla Model S catches fire during test drive

It is proving to be a difficult year for Tesla as the company is once again under the spotlight after a car from its Model S line caught fire during a test drive in France.

The car was amongst the fleet of vehicles taking part in Tesla’s ‘Electric Road Trip’ in France when it caught fire. While in a test drive, the car started making a loud noise and sent a visual alert on the dashboard stating that there was a problem with “charging”.

A Reddit user posted a picture of the vehicle that was taken during the incident.



The passengers evacuated the vehicle in time before it burst into flames. Fire fighters reached the scene of the incident however, the car was completely destroyed.



"We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation. The passengers are all unharmed. They were able to safely exit the vehicle before the incident occurred,” said a Tesla spokesperson.

A similar incident also took place earlier this year in Norway when a Tesla Model S caught fire while Supercharger.

The incident comes just days after one of Tesla's vehicle crashed in Beijing while in ‘autopilot’ mode, with the driver contending sales staff sold the function as ‘self-driving’, overplaying its actual capabilities.



Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm the car was in autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in certain conditions.

The company, which is investigating the crash in China’s capital last week, also said it was the driver’s responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle. In this case, it said, the driver’s hands were not detected on the steering wheel.

This article originally appeared on Electrek