Tesla Told To Pay Over $150,000 in Damages After Quebec Man’s EV Caught Fire

Image Credit: CTV News/YouTubeElon Musk probably isn't that happy right now, after Tesla was ordered to pay over $150,000 in damages to a Quebec man after his car caught fire. The news was broken by CTV News in Canada, and it marks the end of a long-running legal battle.

The battle started in 2023 between Tesla and Sacha de Santis's insurance company. De Santis was the owner of the Tesla, and he was puzzled to smell smoke in his Tesla not long after he had turned the heater on. But that soon turned into a full-on fire.

According to De Santis, it took just a handful of minutes for the fire to totally engulf his car and destroy it. The car, a 2020 Tesla Model X, was a total write-off. Naturally, the owner of the car wasn't going to sit back and not file an insurance claim on his destroyed EV.

"It was a nightmare," De Santis said. Incredibly, after he filed the claim in March 2023, soon after the accident happened, he was told that he should buy a new car. "I had a couple of days to make the choice, so I just bought another Tesla because it was the easiest thing to do at this time," he said. While he did just that, he still wanted to get money back after his other car caught fire.

De Santis had tasked Intact Insurance with getting his money back, but neither he nor his insurance company could have predicted how long the process would take. It took another three years for Tesla to actually pay up, as the EV manufacturer tried to prevent itself from needing to pay De Santis any form of compensation.

According to Quebec Superior Court documents, a representative from Tesla argued that "fires in vehicles typically arise from issues around misuse or vandalism." In other words, they were shifting the blame onto De Santis, and didn't want to give him a single cent towards his new car. But an insurance adjuster had already ruled out that misuse or vandalism could have caused the Model X to set itself on fire like that.

In late September 2026, there was finally progress. The automaker's request for a stay had been rejected, and it was ordered to pay up. In the end, De Santis received $162,000 from his insurance after Tesla paid up, which covered the cost of his new car. However, the EV manufacturer could still appeal the decision.

This would, of course, be incredibly frustrating for both De Santis and his insurance company.

Unfortunately for De Santis, the incident has had a knock-on effect. Since the fire, premiums for him have tripled to roughly $1,000 a month. "My insurance went through the roof because they had a car to pay," he said. However, he is hoping to have that reversed now that he has the money and has a new car. But he did say to CTV News that he and his passenger were lucky to get out of the car without harm.

The news publication also asked De Santis if he had any regrets about buying a Tesla, or if he was happy to let this incident slide. "They're great cars, but I almost died in a fire," he said. A situation like that will be traumatic for anyone, particularly when you see your car go up in flames so quickly. According to De Santis, it took around two to three minutes for the car to set itself on fire.

He said: "You don't believe it, right? You just say that's not true. It's not a real flame, and then you see the flame grow into fire and fire, just, you know, everywhere."

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