{"id":290017,"date":"2021-07-02T23:39:53","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T20:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/model-s-plaid-that-burst-into-flames-owned-by-exec-of-tesla-backer\/"},"modified":"2021-07-02T23:39:53","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T20:39:53","slug":"model-s-plaid-that-burst-into-flames-owned-by-exec-of-tesla-backer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/model-s-plaid-that-burst-into-flames-owned-by-exec-of-tesla-backer\/","title":{"rendered":"#Model S Plaid that burst into flames owned by exec of Tesla backer"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Model S Plaid that burst into flames owned by exec of Tesla backer<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

A brand-new Tesla Model S Plaid that burst into flames in Pennsylvania on Tuesday was owned by a top executive at one of Tesla\u2019s biggest investors, with a stake worth more than $1 billion, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Bart Smith \u2014 the head of the digital asset group at trading firm Susquehanna International, who has been dubbed the \u201cCrypto King\u201d by CNBC \u2014 was driving his brand-new $124,000 vehicle outside Philadelphia when it was consumed in a harrowing unexplained inferno that took first responders an hour and a half to extinguish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attorneys for the driver declined to share the name of the owner of Tesla, but The Post has independently confirmed that Smith was at the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Susquehanna owned about $1.1 billion worth of Tesla shares as of March 31, according to it\u2019s most recent disclosures <\/a>to the Securities and Exchange Commission. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Deliveries of the Model S Plaid \u2014 which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has touted as the \u201cquickest production car ever made\u201d \u2014 began just three weeks ago.\u00a0Tesla did not reply to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith \u2014 who received a glowing New York Times write-up in 2018<\/a> for leading Susquehanna\u2019s early investments in Bitcoin \u2014 declined to comment.<\/p>\n

But the Crypto King app<\/a>ears to be upset with the Musk-owned Tesla about its handling of the flaming inferno that was his car. <\/p>\n

\"Photo
The owner of the Tesla that went up in flames near Philadelphia was owned by an exec of a big Tesla investor. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Thursday, one of Smith\u2019s lawyers posted angrily about the incident on Twitter<\/a> without naming his client. \u201cOur client was trapped & could have died,\u201d Ben Meiselas wrote. \u201cWe tried reaching out to Tesla & have been ignored so far.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jason Setchen, another Smith attorney who declined to name his client, would only say that the owner of the incinerated vehicle was a longtime fan of the brand who has owned Teslas in the past and knew perfectly well how to operate them. <\/p>\n

He said the car that burst into flames was delivered on Saturday and combusted just three days later. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Our firm & @AthleteDefender<\/a> represent an exec who purchased new Tesla Plaid Model S, which was 1\/250 shipped. On Tuesday it spontaneously combusted. Our client was trapped & could have died. We tried reaching out to Tesla & have been ignored so far. This is car after escape. pic.twitter.com\/wXyJXbWggJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ben Meiselas (@meiselasb) July 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

According to the lawyers, news<\/a> reports and eyewitnesses who spoke to The Post, the terrifying bonfire kicked off Tuesday night as the car was being driven in a residential area Haverford, a Philadelphia suburb. <\/p>\n

The driver noticed smoke coming out of the back of his Tesla and had to force his way out because the locks appeared to be malfunctioning, his attorneys from law firm Geragos & Geragos said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a large amount of heat, then a huge amount of smoke. A very acrid smell. The fire just raged for quite a while,\u201d according to eyewitness Tom Wilkinson, who lives down the street from the scene of the fire. \u201cThere were a number of small explosions with sparks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Photo
The Model S Plaid that burst into flames near Philly was owned by am executive of a big Tesla investor, sources said.<\/figcaption>
Geragos & Geragos<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The blaze was so large that Wilkinson, 65, and other neighbors worried it could spread to trees or even a nearby house. <\/p>\n

Wilkinson never saw the driver leap from the car, but he saw the car moving down the street nonetheless for about 150 feet before stopping and becoming fully engulfed in 30-foot-high flames.<\/p>\n

Because he had not seen the driver escape, Wilkinson was worried that whoever had been in the Tesla might be burning alive. And the amount of heat emanating from the vehicle made it impossible to get close enough to check on possible victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A
A new model Tesla that recently burned to a crisp was owned by an executive of one of the electric car makers\u2019 major investors.<\/figcaption>
VCG via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt generated a huge amount of heat,\u201d said Wilkinson, who provided exclusive videos of the blaze to The Post. \u201cNobody knew until they got the flames down if he was still in the car or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firefighters from two different towns were called in to fight the fire, according to a statement<\/a> posted and then deleted from the Gladwyne Fire Company\u2019s website. <\/p>\n

It took about 90 minutes for several teams of firefighters to extinguish it, and emergency crews were on the scene for a total of three hours, according to the fire department. <\/p>\n

Images of the Tesla\u2019s charred remains show that the vehicle had a Vanderbilt University plate. Smith graduated from Vanderbilt in 1999, according to his LinkedIn profile.\n <\/p><\/div>\n