Model 3 vehicles manufactured by Tesla China are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, China, January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – A Tesla Model 3 exploded in a residential underground 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 that the accident was caused by an impact on the underside of the car, the automaker added in 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 manufactured or imported version.
Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has said it does not produce a car battery that burns spontaneously, according to Chinese media.
Scattered accident reports
A number of Tesla cars have exploded over the years, including in 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 examined in China for other reasons, such as their automatic driving technology. Earlier this month, the state-run Economic Information Daily said in a comment that there were at least 10 reports in 2020 about drivers who lost control of their Tesla vehicles in China.