One of those three actions was the call for an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to see if there is a systemic fault with the Model S or its batteries. The NHTSA has obliged by opening an official preliminary investigation in the cause of the fires, though the agency maintains that it initiated its action independently, rather than at the request of Musk or Tesla.
The other actions announced by Musk in a blog post at the company’s website are an update to the air suspension of the Model S that will result in greater ground clearance at highway speeds, as well as an amendment to the warranty policy to cover damage due to a fire, even if due to driver error. The fires in the three Tesla cars were believed to be the result of running over road debris.
Musk said in that blog post:
Since the Model S went into production mid last year, there have been over 400 deaths and 1,200 serious injuries in the United States alone due to gasoline car fires, compared to zero deaths and zero injuries due to Tesla fires anywhere in the world.
As others have pointed out, there have been no reported fires in the rival Nissan Leaf, which has sold in greater numbers and has been on the market longer.
The stock has taken a beating since reaching a record high of $193.37 at the end of September. But investors seem to be pleased with recent developments, as the share price was up another 4% in early premarket trading Wednesday to $126.51.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks