U.S. Safety Agency Launches Investigation Into Tesla Fires

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Business
U.S. Safety Agency Launches Investigation Into Tesla Fires
Over a Five-Week Period, Two Model S Sedans Burned to the Ground After Hitting Large Pieces of Metal

By Mike Ramsey
Nov. 19, 2013 7:56 a.m. ET

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would launch a formal investigation into recent fires that destroyed Tesla Motors Inc. Model S electric cars.

"The agency's investigation was prompted by recent incidents in Washington state and Tennessee that resulted in battery fires due to undercarriage strikes with roadway debris," the agency said in a statement.

Over a five-week period, two Model S sedans burned to the ground after hitting large pieces of metal on the highway. Neither driver was injured.

Tesla's chief executive officer, Elon Musk, writing in a blog on the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's Web site, announced that Tesla would now cover fire damage as part of the vehicle warranty, even if an accident was the driver's fault. Tesla also is planning two software updates that will adjust the height of the Model S at highway speeds so it is less likely to be damaged when running over roadway debris.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304439804579207602051340702

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
http://www.nhtsa.gov/

I don't see the press release yet.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Press-Releases

[DetlefK]

1. Pieces of metal on the highway?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Yes, really.

Please head over to Jalopnik. They have a video of the Tesla Model S that burned up near Seattle.

Feds To Investigate Tesla Model S Fires, Acura Knows Its Cars Suck
http://jalopnik.com/feds-to-investigate-tesla-model-s-fires-acura-knows-it-1467385540

[dipsydoodle]

3. Tesla shares rebound despite fire probe

Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk says coverage of several recent high-profile fires in the Model S has unfairly tarred Tesla.

In a post on the company's blog, he wrote, "Since the Model S went into production mid last year, there have been over 400 deaths and 1,200 serious injuries in the United States alone due to gasoline car fires, compared to zero deaths and zero injuries due to Tesla fires anywhere in the world."

Drivers of the three Model S Teslas, which caught fire after hitting road debris, were unhurt, and praised the cars for helping them escape injury.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/11/19/tesla-stock-federal-probe-fires/3638047/

[Mother Muckraker]

4. Lies and Misinformation from Elon Musk

Comparing 20,000 cars to the 250,000,000 on the road is not a valid comparison. The 250 mil includes much older cars with many more miles.

Also, both the Volt and the Leaf have many more cars on the road and have ZERO fires.

There currently 3 major problems with Tesla right now:

1) 3 car fires within 6 weeks
2) Non-GAAP financial reporting which is possibly in violation of SEC regulations
3) Safety inside the factory (recent accident)

Musk is constantly seeking attention and he's getting the attention.

A couple of Elon Musk's recent lies:

Lie - Invited NHTSA to investigate Tesla
The NHTSA is the one deciding to investigate and Musk has no say in the matter.

Lie - If the NHTSA find some way to improve the Model S's safety, Tesla will add it to the car without charge to customers.
That is more commonly known as a RECALL.

[Posteritatis]

7. Hey now, don't let facts get in the way of a good outraged panic. (nt)

[Mother Muckraker]

5. Red Herrings And Straw Men: Musk's Argument On Tesla Fires

Full story:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2013/11/20/red-herrings-and-straw-men-musks-argument-on-tesla-fires/

First he insisted that there was no flaw in the design of Model S; but then he decided to adjust the suspension on the vehicles via a software change so that they ride higher on the highway and are less likely to take a hit from debris. Initially Musk insisted the cars wouldn’t be recalled, but then he said Tesla actually had asked the federal highway-safety agency to examine Model S — an assertion that NHTSA officials have said simply isn’t true.
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The media straw man: Musk complained in the post about “an onslaught of popular and financial media seeking to make a sensation out of something that a simple Google GOOG -0.24% search would reveal to be false.”

But he didn’t really specify what it is that is “false.” By “false,” was he referring to mere reporting about the fires, which seemed by and large to be pretty factual? Or reporters’ failing to compare the number of Model S fires to the much higher number in gasoline-powered vehicles? Or media speculation about the effects of the fires on Tesla?

Or was Musk implying that a substantial number of media outlets leaped to the conclusion that these three incidents mean the Model S somehow is poorly engineered? If it’s the last option, there’s little evidence for his charge.

[Posteritatis]

6. (self-delete; replied to wrong post)