When debris on a Seattle-area freeway pierced the battery of
a $70,000-plus Tesla Model S and touched off a raging fire, it raised new
safety concerns for electric-vehicle owners.
It also caused rare jitters among investors, who of late
have viewed Tesla as nearly invincible.
Electric vehicles have scored well in government tests of
front and side crashes - the Model S earned the highest score possible. But
Tuesday's incident demonstrates that real-world driving could reveal some
vulnerabilities that don't show up in laboratory testing.