Tesla’s Used Model Explodes While Parked on Roadside, Prompting Safety Probe

Tesla’s used‑car market is now under formal scrutiny after a 2022 Model 3 Performance, bought for £12,000 at a UK auction, detonated while parked on a rural road in Somerset on Nov 17. The owner, 56‑year‑old Rich Farrant, said he heard “an almighty explosion” from his house and found the vehicle engulfed in flames, with a neighbour using a fire extinguisher before emergency crews arrived, Daily Mail reports. The car had previously been involved in an accident and was sold through Copart, a third‑party auction platform. Tesla confirmed it never inspected the vehicle on‑site and therefore could not determine the fire’s cause, adding that it could not offer any goodwill gesture or install the previously purchased Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) and Full Self‑Driving (FSD) packages on a replacement car, according to a written response from the company to Farrant.

The incident arrives amid a spate of high‑profile Tesla fires that have drawn regulatory attention worldwide. Reuters noted that a video of a parked Model S exploding in Shanghai earlier this year highlighted “Tesla woes” ahead of the firm’s earnings season, underscoring the growing public and investor focus on battery safety (Reuters). While the Shanghai case was traced to a single battery module failure, the Somerset explosion remains unexplained because the vehicle was never examined by Tesla’s local teams. The lack of an on‑site inspection, as Tesla explained, stems from the car’s third‑party sale and prior crash damage, which complicates any definitive technical analysis.

Industry analysts have long warned that the resale market for electric vehicles can obscure latent defects, especially when cars change hands without a manufacturer‑led inspection. TechCrunch’s coverage of a separate Shanghai fire attributed the blaze to a defective battery module, reinforcing the notion that a single cell failure can cascade into a full‑vehicle fire. If the Somerset Model 3 suffered a similar internal short‑circuit, the incident could illustrate a systemic risk for used Teslas that have endured prior collisions or sub‑optimal repairs. However, without forensic data from the wrecked chassis, regulators and consumer‑advocacy groups are limited to speculation.

The UK’s Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has opened a formal safety probe into the Somerset explosion, seeking to determine whether the fire originated from the high‑voltage battery pack, the vehicle’s thermal management system, or damage sustained in the earlier accident. Should the investigation uncover a manufacturing defect, it could trigger a broader recall of used Model 3s with similar histories, echoing the 2021 recall of over 100,000 Model S and Model X vehicles for battery‑fire risks. Tesla’s refusal to retrofit the new £9,000 replacement with the owner’s original EAP and FSD features—citing the lack of an on‑site inspection—may also fuel consumer‑rights debates about warranty obligations for second‑hand EVs.

For now, the incident underscores the tension between Tesla’s rapid expansion of its used‑car ecosystem and the need for rigorous safety oversight. As the investigation proceeds, regulators will likely demand clearer protocols for third‑party sales and post‑collision inspections, while Tesla faces pressure to demonstrate that its battery architecture can withstand the wear and tear inherent in the secondary market. The outcome could shape how automakers, insurers, and auction houses handle EV safety disclosures, a sector that investors are watching closely given the brand’s recent volatility and the broader industry’s push toward electrification.