16 July 2023 , 19:44
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A dramatic video shows the moment an electric car burst into flames on a street in north London.
Police and three fire engines were sent to the scene on Perth Road, Ilford, this morning to reports of a car alight.
Witness Eugenio Mereu saw the Tesla car blazing as well as the billowing black smoke on the side of the street this morning.
He says the car was a Tesla Model Y, which have a starting price of around £44,990.
Mr Mereu, who owns a similar car, said: There was a bit of a commotion and I went outside and it had caught on fire, completely.
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Flames were seen erupting from the well alight car (Eugenio Mereu / SWNS)
The footage was caught by Eugenio Mereu, who has the same car (Eugenio Mereu / SWNS)"It hadn't been caused in a crash, it wasn't particularly hot, there wasn't anyone near it.
"It's scary because I've actually got the exact same car, it's slightly concerning.
"I heard one person screaming and then you could actually hear the fire, making the crackling noise.
"Imagine, I've got the same car, same colour, same year, everything brand new. I was like 'oh my God that's concerning'.
"Imagine the owner not knowing, obviously they parked it overnight.
"Even more fire engines started coming, more police afterwards as well. Then they started to tell people to go back indoors and move us on, to not cause a commotion or make it worse."
In January this year, it took 22,000 litres of water to put out a similarly spontaneous fire on a Tesla Model S sports car in Sacramento, California.
A website called Tesla Fire, claims 204 Tesla fires in cars made by Elon Musk's company have been reported in the media.
Earlier this year Tesla recalled nearly 363,000 vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving beta over a potential crash risk.
The electric car company confirmed it was recalling “certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or pending installation.”
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The recall included 362,758 vehicles as the company believes the self-driving beta software may cause crashes.
The system “may allow the vehicle to act unsafe around intersections,” including travelling straight through an intersection from a turn lane and proceeding through steady-yellow traffic lights, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla are being approached for comment.