A pre-dawn fire left at least four Teslas damaged at a California dealership on Labor Day, and fire investigators say the flames do not appear to have started by accident.
Video from the Corte Madera lot shows the worst of the damage concentrated on two vehicles. One was left heavily charred, with broken windows and extensive damage around the roof, hood, and passenger compartment, while other Teslas nearby were also damaged.
CBS News Bay Area reported that the first calls came in just after 4:15 a.m. Firefighters had the flames out about 15 minutes later, before the fire could develop into an even more difficult electric-vehicle battery fire.
What remained was no longer being treated as a routine vehicle fire. Central Marin Fire investigators returned to the scene later that morning and said the blaze did not appear to be accidental, putting security footage and witness accounts at the center of the investigation.
Before Sunrise
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Adam Sherry, who lives near the dealership, told CBS he could see the flicker of flames through his blinds. He also heard popping from the burning vehicles and saw sparks shooting to the sides.
Fire crews moved quickly. According to the report, the flames were extinguished within roughly 15 minutes.
Central Marin Fire investigators came back a couple of hours later to begin working through the cause and origin of the blaze. The department said the circumstances did not appear accidental but stopped short of announcing a final cause.
Investigators planned to examine evidence around the vehicles along with bystander statements and any available security-camera footage.
What Was Left
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An earlier KRON4 report captured the scene while information was still developing. Four Teslas could be seen inside the taped-off back portion of the property, with two appearing to have taken the brunt of the fire.
That early look also left an important question unanswered: whether all four vehicles belonged to Tesla or whether some had been brought to the location for service.
Tesla’s own Corte Madera location page identifies the property at 201 Casa Buena Drive as a service center with store and delivery operations on site.
Battery Stayed Out
For all the visible damage, firefighters avoided a complication that could have made the incident considerably harder to manage.
The main battery of the heavily burned Tesla did not catch fire, according to CBS News Bay Area. A Central Marin Fire official explained that an involved battery can potentially require firefighters to allow it to burn out, creating additional hazards and extending the incident.
That did not happen here.
The question instead shifted to how the fire began.
CBS reported that Tesla dealerships elsewhere have been targeted by arson and vandalism in recent years, but a Central Marin Fire official said the department had not dealt with another case like this in its area. Nothing released so far establishes a motive for the Corte Madera fire or connects it to those incidents elsewhere.
Police joined the investigation after the flames were extinguished. An officer went door to door at apartments overlooking the Tesla property, asking residents whether they had seen anything that could help investigators determine who was there before the fire began.