Tesla Model S fire or smoke problems

Filed Oct 12, 2026 · CA · crash · fire · 1 injury

I purchase my Tesla Model S in February 2026. Shortly after the purchase, My Tesla car drove through red light twice with its Full Self Drive (FSD) engaged. Recently my car crashed into a planter wall with its FSD system engaged while I was trying to take over. The car immediately caught fire following the collision. There are significant concerns that I would like to raise here: 1. After the crash, fire started immediately followed by two explosions, the exterior door handles did not deploy, creating a potential emergency rescue hazard. If I had not been able to use the manual release, I could have lost my life in the fire/explosions. I am a physician. After this accident, I tried to educate all my patients, coworkers and friends. I found out that more than half of the Tesla drivers in my patient population, coworkers and friends did not know where the manual releases were. 2. Tesla heavily promotes FSD, creating consumer expectations about its capabilities and safety. I believe that I was misled about how safe the system was. The sales representatives did not adequately inform me about potential risks that I now believe were important to my purchasing decision. My experience raises concerns about whether consumers are receiving clear, prominent, accurate, and understandable information about FSD's actual capabilities, operational limitations, and safety risks before purchasing or relying on the system. Consumers could be led to overestimate the system's capabilities and rely on it in ways that increase the risk of a crash.

Filed Sep 9, 2025 · Body, Electrical · CA · fire

On [XXX], I was driving my recently purchased 2018 Tesla Model S (VIN: [XXX], mileage approx. [30,536]). The vehicle was purchased directly through Tesla’s app in late August 2025 and delivered to me the same day of the incident. Approximately 4.5 hours after delivery, while driving with my son, white smoke began to come out of the cabin air vents. Within minutes, the smoke turned black and rapidly filled the interior of the car. I immediately pulled over and evacuated the vehicle with my son. Shortly after, the car caught fire and was completely destroyed. No modifications had been made to the vehicle, and it was sold to me as inspected and certified by Tesla. The sudden appearance of smoke from the vents and rapid escalation to a full vehicle fire posed a severe danger to me, my child, and others on the road. I am reporting this to the federal safety agency to document the incident and to request that the agency investigate whether Tesla Model S vehicles have underlying defects that may cause dangerous cabin fires shortly after use. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Nov 13, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · CA

Driving my car and it completely gives out in the middle of traffic without any warning or alter almost causing an accident. When asked about the absence of alert they said I may or may not get one and I should be lucky it just cut off (randomly in traffic mind you) because if it didn’t it would’ve burst into flames. Being the Rear Drive Unit is the second most important part of the vehicle an alert should be given 100% of the time as no alert could cause injury to myself or other drivers. This means there are other Tesla drivers out there with a probable chance of their randomly car stopping without any control of the vehicle endangering lives. This oddly happens 60 days outside my 8 year warranty when I haven’t any issues at all and receive alerts for everything down to my fob key being low on battery. In addition the whole time they were just trying to convince to get a new one because they just happen to be running a limited time promo that I can transfer my free supercharging to a new vehicle if I purchased. A lot of people have reported (down to the day) of their car dying suddenly after warranty but no avail Tesla says they won’t goodwill repair my vehicle although I could’ve died or been seriously injured.

Filed Sep 19, 2023 · Airbags, Body · FL · fire

Three separate reports from car to Tesla: Traction Control Disabled Stability Control Disabled Automatic Emergency Braking Disabled Two hours later my car caught on fire while parked at my home. It was declared a total loss.

Filed Dec 2, 2022 · Acceleration · 8,000 miles · CO · crash · fire · 3 injuries

The contact owned a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 100 MPH, as he took his foot off of the accelerator, with the vehicle brake control set to "aggressive slowdown," as the vehicle slowed the contact looked into the rearview mirror and observed white smoke issuing from the rear of the vehicle. The contact then depressed the brake pedal, and instead of slowing the vehicle accelerated at a dramatic rate and the contact lost control of the vehicle and left the roadway. The contact stated he was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle went into a ditch and continued straight following the ditch. The contact stated that the vehicle had not lost any speed, rather it seemed to be going faster. The vehicle crashed through a fence, drove up a slight berm, and went airborne. The contact's vehicle crashed into the ground, front end first, after flying 130 feet in the air, and began to roll end over end two to three times. The contact and his two passengers were unconscious after impact with the ground, the vehicle had come to a stop and caught on fire. The contact had attempted to exit the vehicle once he regained consciousness, however, he had difficulty since the driver's side door was jammed and his left ankle was dislocated and his right ankle was broken. The contact had managed to crawl out of the vehicle through the driver's side window which had completely shattered. The contact stated that the passenger in the front seat was not seriously injured, although he was transported to a hospital and released that same day. The passenger in the rear was transported and hospitalized with internal bleeding and a broken rib, the contact was not told which rib was broken by the passenger. The vehicle had been engulfed in fire and the contact had rolled into a ditch, a passerby was on the scene and called emergency services. The contact was transported from the scene by a rescue helicopter and flown to a trauma center. At the trauma center, the contact was treated for int

Filed Sep 23, 2022 · Engine · AL · fire

left rear motor malfunctioned yes available for inspection The computer said that the motor had malfunctioned but is safe to drive but dont exceed 65 mph. I drove some 2 miles and the car stopped and the motor caught fire. The vehicle has not been inspected.

Filed May 23, 2022 · CA

There is a concern that the rear door handles are opened by motorized mechanism. In a case of power failure, the only way to open the door is to pull a string on the floor of the back seat. From the outside, there is no way to open the door. My concern is when a child is strapped in car seat in the back and power is out due to electric problem and the car is on fire, there is no quick way to get to the child and remove the child safely. This is a safety hazard that need to be addressed right away. I emphasis this has not happened, thank goodness but is a potential of a disaster.

Filed Feb 23, 2022 · Electrical · 23,227 miles · CA · fire

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while charging the vehicle at a charge station, the contact entered the vehicle and after a few minutes, an abnormal plastic burning odor was present in the interior of the vehicle. The contact noticed white smoke coming from the front of the hood of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and unpluged the charger from the vehicle and waited a few minutes for the white smoke to clear from the front of the vehicle on its own. No warning lights illuminated the vehicle, and the only message that appeared on the vehicle monitor was charging was almost complete. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer who diagnosed the failure as the fan condenser had overheated and it would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however, the contact had not picked up the vehicle from the dealership at this time. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23, 227.

Filed Jan 6, 2022 · VA

I own MSLR 2022, on the manual it says to open a rear door in the unlikely situation when no power, fold back the edge of the carpet below the rear seats to expose the mechanical release cable. Pull the mechanical release cable toward the center of the vehicle. I have a floor mat that covers the secret hole stated in the instructions as well. It adds an additional step. My concern is that in a circumstance when the car is on fire or submerged in water, the rear passengers may lack the knowledge or calmness to unlock the doors.

Filed Nov 18, 2021 · Electrical · CA · fire

Car was charging in the garage on Dec 30, 2020 when at 5:25 AM a message was sent to my phone that the charging had been interrupted but not completed. 12 minutes later at 5:37 AM a message was sent that the Alarm on the vehicle had been activated. 2 minutes later the second Tesla in the garage sent a message that the alarm had been activated. None of these messages were seen at the time since we were asleep in the back of the house, but the car alarm did wake us up. Hearing the alarm woke us and soon after we heard smoke alarms from teh garage and throughout the house. When we walked to the front of the house, we could see flames from the garage to the top of the second story. We immediately exited the house. The attached article and video describes the situation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/04/tesla-fire/ Both Tesla cars and half the house was destroyed by the fire. Tesla never came to the house to inspect the car that started the fire. To date it has not been examined and Tesla takes no responsibility for the damage. They advertise that the battery is warranted and that they will cover any damage caused by a faulty battery, but have refused to do anything.