Tesla Must Pay C$161,700 After Quebec Court Rejects Its Vandalism Theory in Model X Fire

A Quebec judge has ordered Tesla Canada to reimburse an insurer the full C$161,700 it paid out after a 2020 Model X burst into flames in Montreal, rejecting the company’s attempt to blame the incident on vandalism or owner misuse.

The fire broke out in the early hours of March 5, 2023, while owner Sacha De Santis was driving through Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough with his girlfriend. Smoke began pouring into the cabin moments after they switched on the heating. The couple pulled over, grabbed their belongings and escaped on foot. Within roughly five minutes, the electric SUV was fully engulfed. Montreal police investigated and concluded the same year that no criminal act was involved.

De Santis’s insurer, Intact, paid him C$161,700 for the vehicle and then pursued Tesla Canada to recover the money, arguing the Model X was still covered by its factory warranty. In Canada, Tesla’s basic limited vehicle warranty covers four years or 80,000 kilometres, and the fire occurred about three years after the SUV entered service. An expert report submitted to the court determined the blaze originated on the passenger side of the dashboard and described a premature electrical failure as the probable cause.

Intact won a default judgment against Tesla in June. Tesla then asked the court to overturn that ruling, which is how one of its employees ended up testifying that vehicle fires are “generally” the result of misuse or vandalism. Justice Ian Demers was unpersuaded. He refused Tesla’s request and noted the automaker failed to present even a minimally serious defence, pointing out that the misuse-or-vandalism claim rested on no supporting data at all. Tesla Canada did not respond to media requests for comment, while Intact declined to comment and observed that the appeal window had not yet closed.

The outcome sits awkwardly beside Tesla’s own public messaging. The company maintains a Vehicle Fire Safety Report claiming roughly one Tesla fire per 140 million miles driven between 2012 and 2024, compared with one fire every 17 million miles for the average US vehicle, based on NFPA and DOT figures. Tesla notes its tally includes fires it did not cause, such as arson, wildfires and building fires. When the company first published fire data in its safety reports in 2019, the figure stood at one fire per 170 million miles, meaning its own number has drifted upward since. None of that, however, addressed the question before the court: whether this particular Model X ignited because of a defect while still under warranty. The only expert evidence said yes; Tesla answered with an employee’s impression.