BUSINESS BRIEF

3rd electric Tesla Model S catches fire

11/8/2013

DETROIT — A Tesla Model S electric car caught fire this week after hitting road debris on a Tennessee freeway, the third fire in a Model S in the past five weeks. The driver was not hurt.

It’s the second Model S blaze involving road debris. In October, a driver hit debris that pierced a shield and the battery pack, causing a fire. In the other fire, a driver crashed into a wall and a tree at a high speed.

Shares of California-based Tesla Motors Inc. fell 7.5 percent to $139.77 Thursday. That’s on top of Wednesday’s plunge of 14.5 percent.

The shares are still up 312 percent this year.