---
title: "Watch a Tesla Model S Burst Into Flames in a Parking Garage"
description: "A CCTV video has been making its rounds on Chinese media since Sunday that shows a Tesla Model S catching fire in a Shanghai parking lot."
date: "2019-04-23"
modified: "2019-04-23"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-fire-shanghai-parking-garage"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Tesla"
tags:
  - "electric car"
  - "model s"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch a Tesla Model S Burst Into Flames in a Parking Garage

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/tesla-fire-shanghai-parking-garage.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Weibo\</em\>*

## Fire in Shanghai

A [CCTV video](<https://www.weibo.com/6069454448/HqI5yo6p9?from=page_1005056069454448_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment>) has been making its rounds on Chinese media since the weekend that shows a Tesla Model S catching fire in a Shanghai parking lot.

The car in question first starts to heavily smoke from below, before catching fire in a big ball of light and flame. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown — but the incident illustrates the perils that ubiquitous cameras pose for prominent brands.

https://twitter.com/ShanghaiJayin/status/1119997229530406913

## Fire Watch

It's not the first Tesla fire Futurism has reported on. Most recently, a man died after crashing a 2016 Tesla Model S into a tree in Miami, Florida in February, [according to local news](<https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/tesla-that-burned-in-fatal-crash-in-davie-catches-fire-again-at-tow-yard>).

In an [official response](<https://www.weibo.com/teslaofficial?is_hot=1#1556037160307>) on Chinese social media site Weibo, Tesla wrote that "after learning about the accident that occurred in Shanghai, we sent the team to the scene last night. We are actively contacting relevant departments and supporting the verification."

## Bad Timing

The timing of the video couldn't come at a worse time.

Tesla has been betting billions of dollars on expanding sales to the Chinese market — construction of Tesla's $2 billion Gigafactory in Shanghai, for instance, started [earlier this year](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/shanghai-gigafactory-tesla-elon-musk>).

**READ MORE:** [It Looks Like a Tesla Model S Just Exploded in a Chinese Parking Garage](<https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xwnzbz/it-looks-like-a-tesla-model-s-just-exploded-in-a-chinese-parking-garage>) \[*Motherboard*\]

**More on Tesla fires:** *[Report: In Fatal Crash, Door Handles Fail on Burning Tesla](<https://futurism.com/tesla-driver-killed-burning-model-s>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)