Image: Bobby M. via Facebook
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transport Canada are probing into the cause of an incident in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where a Tesla Model Y caught fire shortly after the driver kicked a window out to escape on May 20, 2022 — reports Reuters.
Jamil Jutha was driving his 2021 Model Y last Friday when the car suddenly and completely lost power. “The doors wouldn’t open. The windows wouldn’t go down,” he said.
Both the doors and windows in a Model Y are electronically controlled. The front driver and passenger doors have manual, mechanical door releases for use when the car has no power, but Jutha was panicked as he noticed smoke coming through the car’s air vents.
“Of course, there’s always going to be panic in a moment when you feel trapped,” he explained. “I kicked through the window, climbed out and called 911 right away.” Jutha made it out before his Model Y was engulfed in flames.
Transport Canada’s collision and defect investigation team secured the vehicle following the fire. The automotive safety agency has said it “notified Tesla of the incident and is currently making arrangements for a joint inspection of the vehicle in an effort to determine the cause of the fire.”
The NHTSA told Reuters on Thursday that it “is aware of the incident and has reached out to the manufacturer for information.”
Tesla is yet to comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a Tesla owner in China admitted to fabricating facts about defective brakes on his Tesla and went on to apologize to the electric carmaker earlier this month. Tesla has faced public scrutiny over the past couple of years due to allegations of faulty brakes in its cars.
