tesla grapples with impact of battery fire in u.s.

DETROIT (Reuters)-
Two days after a video of a burning Tesla electric vehicle went viral, the \"green car\" maker struggled to control losses while investors cut $2.
The company\'s market value fell by 4 billion.
Tesla MotorsTSLA. O)
It has been confirmed that the car caught fire after the driver hit a large metal object in southern Seattle on Tuesday morning, causing serious damage to the front end of the Model S sedan.
Emergency officials in the accident said the fire occurred in the lithium of electric vehicles-ion battery.
This is the latest in a series of problems with lithium.
Ion batteries are heavily used in electric vehicles sold by various car manufacturers.
However, the battery fire is the first fire in Tesla, California.
Electric car manufacturer founded by billionaire Elon Musk.
The fire and the resulting propaganda sparked a public relations nightmare for a company that only produces electric cars, rather than a mainstream car manufacturer like General Motors (GM. N)
Analysts say this accounts for only a small percentage of electric vehicle sales.
\"Tesla\'s threshold is much higher,\" said James Albertin, an analyst at Nicholas Stifel, who has a \"hold\" rating on Tesla shares.
\"Tesla cannot withstand the continued impact of consumer complaints and incidents that could weaken the demand curve for the next car.
Before the incident, Tesla\'s shares soared nearly six times this year.
Tesla shares fell on Thursday.
2%, at $173.
31 on Nasdaq.
This is the top of a 6.
Fell 2% on Wednesday.
The video of the burning car was released on the car blog Jalopnik and is widely spread by other media.
\"Tesla is a very controversial stock that will feed the bear.
They will say it will reduce sales, \"said R. W.
Ben Kallo, Baird analyst.
On Wednesday, for valuation reasons, he lowered the rating to \"neutral \".
He said he thought the fire had done minor damage to sales, but he and other analysts still expected strong demand.
This is not the first time that an electric vehicle has a battery fire, because the batteries of GM\'s Chevrolet Volt and Mitsubishi are on fire (7211. T)i-MiEV. Boeing Co (BA. N)
Lithium was also processed-
Earlier this year, Ion batteries ignited on a new Dreamliner.
Analysts pointed out that in the Washington incident, warnings inside the Model S reminded drivers to have enough time to park and leave, and the fire never entered the car.
Given that Tesla\'s Model S and discontinued sports cars have been traveling for 0. 113 billion miles, this is the first time a battery has caught fire, and the company\'s speed of fire is still only once --
Craig Owen, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the frequency of traditional car fires is tenth.
His rating of the stock was \"neutral.
Tesla officials say batteries and cars work as designed to keep the fire under control and give drivers time to stop and leave the car safely.
Tesla spokesman Elizabeth Jarvis-\"The fire was caused by a large metal object directly hitting one of the 16 modules in the Model S battery packShean said.
\"Because, according to the design, each module in the battery pack is isolated by a fire barrier to limit any potential damage, the fire in the battery pack is contained in a small part of the front of the vehicle,\" she added.
The incident report submitted by Kent Fire Department in Washington described how firefighters put out the fire, but saw it reignited under the car.
The report also says water seems to only intensify the flames.
Firefighters then use dry chemical fire extinguishers to extinguish most of the fire in the front-end battery pack of the vehicle.
Analysts at research firm Kelly\'s Blue Book say road debris could damage the vehicle\'s cooling system, causing a fire.
They also said the current U. S.
The government will prevent any investigation.
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the car safety center, said that if an object hitting the bottom of the car could cause a fire, there was a \"design problem\" with the Tesla battery \".
The head of the consumer supervision organization called on the United StatesS.
The safety regulator sets industry standards, including additional protection under electric vehicle battery packs.
Tesla\'s battery pack consists of small lithium batteries.
The laptop also uses ion batteries, which are not used by other car manufacturers.
The battery pack extends to the bottom of the vehicle.
In contrast, GM uses large
Format the battery in T-
The shape of the voltage center.
Panasonic Corporation (6752. T)
Companies that supply batteries used in Model S declined to comment on Thursday.
Turn lithium-
The automotive industry is increasingly turning to lithium-
Ion batteries compared to cheaper but heavier nickel
The metal hydrogen battery that Toyota is still using (7203. T)in its top-selling Prius.
The largest General Motors Company in the United StatesS.
Car manufacturers, using lithium
Ion battery in Chevrolet Volt plug
In the hybrid, while the smaller U. S.
Ford Motor Corp. F. N)
Use the same technology in its green car, including C-Max hybrid.
This technology is popular in the latest generation of this car because the battery can be lighter, smaller and can maintain a longer capacity. Lithium-
The ion battery is about half the weight of nickel.
Metal hydrogen batteries.
Still, Tesla\'s fire is even worse news for a technology that has become a concern for some, said albetin, analyst at Stifel.
Model S is one of the most popular pure electric vehicles in the United States. as of September, sales are expected to be 14,300 this year.
The hybrid Volt is powered by electric batteries and gasoline engines.
Model S won five awards in August.
Star safety rating from the United StatesS.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in each test category.
The model is also the highest rating given by the influential magazine Consumer Report, 99 out of 100.
Owen, Wedbush analyst, said the fire would be a \"learning opportunity\" for Tesla to make potential design changes for Model X cars, model X is the cross-border derivative of Model S next year, so-
Known as the Gen 3 model, a new battery family
A power contract priced at about $35,000.
Also on Thursday, Tesla said it had reached an agreement with the Virginia Motor Vehicle Division and the Virginia Motor Dealers Association to allow it to sell cars directly to consumers of a company
Stores owned in North Virginia.
Several dealer groups in the United StatesS.
In order to avoid the traditional franchise structure, the states fought Tesla.