Tesla investigating explosion of car in Shanghai

US electric car maker Tesla Inc said on Monday that it is investigating an incident in which one of its vehicles apparently exploded in Shanghai.

A video on Weibo showed a Tesla Model S parked in a garage starting to emit smoke. Shortly after, the vehicle exploded and burst into flames. 

Another video showed at least two badly damaged cars nearby about 8:15pm on Sunday,  according to the time stamp on the video.

"After finding out about this incident in Shanghai, we immediately sent a team to the scene. We are currently contacting relevant departments to confirm the situation. Based on current information, no one was injured," Tesla said on its official Weibo account at 6:58am on Monday.

According to firefighting authorities, the incident happened in an underground garage at a residential community on Wending Road in Xuhui District.

They sent 15 fire trucks to the scene at 8:39pm and had put the fire out by 9:18pm. The fire occurred on the first level of the two-level underground garage. A total of three cars, the Tesla, an Audi and a Lexus, were damaged, according to firefighting authorities.

According to local news portal eastday.com, the owner of the Tesla said he parked in the garage at about 7:40pm on Sunday and was informed of the incident about 9pm.

The car was about three and a half years old and the owner said he had not encountered any serious problems and nothing unusual had happened on Sunday. The car was not being charged when the incident occurred.

“I’m waiting for the result (of the investigation). And I’ll take any necessary action to protect my interest once the result comes out,” the car owner said.

Residents living in the high-rise buildings in the community were evacuated during the incident. The garage has been cordoned off due to the risk of secondary explosions and a high density of sulfides and carbon monoxide.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.