Police find no evidence Sydney house fire was started by charging Tesla

Police have found no evidence that a charging Tesla may have started a Sydney house fire that killed a family cat, as early reports suggested.

A home has been partially destroyed and a family cat left dead after a fire ripped through a Sydney property.

The fire started about 8pm on Sunday in the attached garage of a house on Calabria Street in Prestons, southwest Sydney.

Early reports suggested the blaze could have been started by a charging Tesla, but news.com.au can now confirm the two vehicles in the garage were a Hyundai and a Holden.

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The cause of a house fire in Sydney is unknown, but there is no evidence that it was caused by charging a Tesla as previously suggested. Picture: TNV

Police said the fire started in the garage. Picture: TNV

NSW Police told news.com.au the premises would be forensically examined on Monday morning to determine the origin of the fire.

On Tuesday, police said the cause of the fire was still unknown, but confirmed there was no evidence to suggest a Tesla wall charger contributed to the cause of the fire.

A firefighter on the scene said the fire destroyed the garage and two vehicles inside.

“The fire has travelled through to the house and destroyed the kitchen,” he said, adding the rest of the house was saved but had smoke damage.

The fire caused smoke damage to the rest of the house. Picture: TNV

The two cars in the garage were a Hyundai and a Holden. Picture: TNV

Teslas, a luxury electric vehicle, start from about $60,000 in Australia.

After making headlines around the world for catching fire, the company’s 2020 Impact Report, released in August last year, claimed its cars were 11 times less likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.

Tesla made headlines in Australia last month when a woman behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 allegedly hit an aged care worker who was boarding a tram in Melbourne.

Police claimed the driver had said the car was in autopilot.

Originally published as Police find no evidence Sydney house fire was started by charging Tesla