Rob Carlson, the owner of the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S which caught fire, said that he is impressed with the performance of the vehicle and is looking forward to buying another one, according to GreenCarReports. Carlson wrote an email to Tesla’s vice president of sales and service, Jerome Gilligan, in which he said that he is “still a big fan of your car and look forward to getting back into one.”
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Model S caught fire recently, and a video of the incident went viral. Stock of the company pulled down as an after-effect of the fire, which was caused when the car hit metal debris.
Shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) ran in a reverse loop after the incident, but have rebounded and are performing impressively again. Analysts also believe that the Model S fire was a rare event and offset by safety features which kept the fire contained.
Carlson is also satisfied with the share performance of the company as he owns stock in Tesla.
Model S perfectly safe
The incident with Carlson took place in a HOV lane in Seattle. After hitting a rock, the Model S lost power and warned Carlson to exit the car. Carlson got out of the car without any problem, and the fire was restricted only to one of the total 16 modules, which gave the driver enough time to make an exit.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said that part of semi-trailer was found on the roadway where accident took place. He added that the shape of the object was such that it created a lever action under the car, piercing the Model S with top force on the order of 25 tons. Musk said that the force was enough to dig a hole 3 inches deep through the armor plate, put there to safeguard base of the vehicle.
Musk also believes that the video footage taken was slightly higher on drama than the real incident, as it was shot after firefighters made holes in the battery plate to let the fire go upwards and cover the hood. When the car itself caught on fire, then the flames were contained downwards.
“It is important to note that the fire in the battery was contained to a small section near the front by the internal firewalls built into the pack structure. At no point did fire enter the passenger compartment,” Musk added.