NHTSA complaint #11536830

Owner complaint summary

On August 2, 2023 at 0400, the Tesla M3 was charging in the garage using a home charger. Smoke indicative of an electrical fire likely originated from the vehicle and eventually triggered a smoke alarm in the kitchen. The driver was unaware the source of the smoke was the Tesla, disconnected the Tesla and moved it out of the house to protect the vehicleb assuming a fire was in the house, and called firefighters who searched the home without success for a source of the fire. The driver now believes the Tesla was the source as the garage access door was cracked open to feed the charging cable from the 240v outlet in the laundry room. The nearest smoke detector from the Tesla is in the kitchen, where the driver smelled smoke from an electrical fire. At roughly 0745, the driver was about to complete a one hour commute to work in this Tesla unaware that the incident at 0400 was related to the Tesla. The driver experienced a sudden vector and velocity change in the vehicle while traveling at highway speeds. This is the driver's last memory of the accident that followed. A witness driving behind the Tesla described the vehicle traveling in clear lanes when it abruptly jerked left, then right into the side of the highway into concrete barricades. The Tesla was destroyed, airbags deployed, and the driver was rescued by first responders,firefighters, and paramedics. The driver was evacuated to the nearest hospital with serious injuries. The driver suffered broken ribs, a pneumothorax, several lacerations to head and chest, several contusions across the shoulder, legs, and body, and a mild traumatic brain injury.