A Quebec court has ordered Tesla Canada to pay CAD 161,700 to the insurer Intact. The payment covers the total loss of a 2020 Tesla Model X that caught fire in Montreal on March 5, 2023.
The incident occurred while the vehicle was being driven. The owner and a passenger exited the car after smoke filled the cabin, and the SUV was destroyed within five minutes. Montreal police concluded the fire was not criminal in nature.
Expert testimony presented to the court identified a probable electrical failure in the dashboard as the cause of the fire. The vehicle was under Tesla’s factory warranty at the time, which covers four years or 80,000 km.
Tesla attempted to contest the claim by suggesting the fire was likely caused by vandalism or misuse. However, the judge rejected this argument, noting that the company provided no data to support its theory.
The court had previously issued a default judgment against Tesla in June. The automaker’s subsequent request to retract that judgment was denied by Justice Ian Demers, who cited a lack of a serious defense.
