Tesla ordered to pay $162,000 for Model X fire after failed ‘vandalism’ defense — SkimNews
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- Tesla Canada was ordered by a Quebec court to cover C$161,700 that an insurer paid out for a Model X that burned in Montreal.
- Tesla told the court that car fires are "generally" caused by misuse or vandalism — a defense the judge did not accept.
- An expert report traced the Montreal Model X fire to an electrical failure in the dashboard.
- The ruling leaves Tesla Canada liable for the full insurer payout after its "vandalism" framing was thrown out.
Why it matters: The ruling undercuts Tesla's courtroom strategy of attributing car fires to owner misuse — an expert report pinpointed the cause as a dashboard electrical failure, directly contradicting Tesla's claim that such fires are 'generally' caused by vandalism. Tesla Canada now owes the entire C$161,700 insurer payout, a concrete cost for the failed defense.
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