Tesla price cuts: Tesla cuts vehicle prices once again. The fire occurred while the vehicle was charging in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check and was caused by an internal short circuit due to a manufacturing defect when cells in the battery were at a "high state of charge," according to documents posted on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration website. 9 found that the fire started in one of the battery arrays when "cathode aluminum tabs contacted the anode electrode material, causing an internal short circuit when the cells were at a high state of charge