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Third Tesla Model S Car Fire Reported

The company stresses that the third car fire reported since early October was the result of an accident near Nashville, but Tesla stock still fell.

Third Tesla Model S Car Fire Reported
Tesla Motors Club
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Another car fire in just over a month has analysts calling Tesla one of the hottest companies out there in more ways than one.

"Another Model S electric car has caught on fire. This is a picture of it posted on Twitter. It happened yesterday just outside of Nashville. The company says it was caused by a crash and was not spontaneous." (Via KTVU)

It marks the third Model S car fire since early October. This is video of the first blaze, and Tesla says all three fires followed accidents. (Via YouTube / Aj Gill)

Tesla stressed that point and immediately started damage control, with CEO Elon Musk telling ValueWalk:

"For consumers concerned about fire risk, there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery than a large tank of highly flammable liquid."

The electric car fires haven't helped the company's incredible stock performances. (Via YouTube / MotorTrend)

Tesla's stock dipped to around $138 late Thursday morning, down more than $40 a share from just two days prior. (Via Yahoo!)

But some analysts say the fires alone aren't to blame for that steep drop.

"I think the car fire is a sideshow. The real story is this thing is down 25 percent since they reported on Tuesday afternoon, and that's because they under-delivered on the number of cars that they were actually able to ship." (Via MSNBC)

Keep in mind that this time last year, Tesla's stock stood at just $31.

So yeah, we'd take that ... as long as the cars — and the stock — don't go up in flames.