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A man has died after his Tesla electric car crashed into a guardrail and exploded into flames in a motorway tragedy in Switzerland.

The 48-year-old German was driving on the motorway in the southern canton of Ticino when his car hit the central reservation barrier.

It then turned over and burst into flames .

Local firefighters suggested yesterday that the impact of the horror smash on Thursday may have set off a fire in the vehicle's battery.

Dramatic pictures of the scene show flames raging from the wreckage of the Tesla, as plumes of thick, black smoke billow into the air.

(Image: Reuters)

The crash is one of several accidents to affect Tesla Inc vehicles in recent days - with an incident last week leaving two teenagers dead.

The electric car maker has been left "deeply saddened" by the latest accident, and is currently working to "establish the facts" of it.

On its Facebook page, Ticino fire brigade said: "The violent impact of Lithium-ion batteries could probably have caused a phenomenon called 'thermal runaway', i.e. a rapid and unstoppable increase in temperature."

The post has reportedly since been removed.

Lithium-ion batteries can, under very exceptional circumstances, have a sudden and unstoppable increase in temperature, said fire safety expert Guido Zaccarelli, in an article quoted by the firefighters.

(Image: REUTERS)

This can happen in a sort of chain reaction that leads to the complete destruction of the batteries and the car, according to Guido.

A Tesla spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened by this accident, and we are working to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation to local authorities."

Swiss cops are investigating the death of the German man.

On Friday night, a Tesla Model S sedan smashed at speed into a fire truck stopped at a red light in Utah, US, police said.

The driver, who suffered a broken ankle, said she had been using Autopilot before the crash south of Salt Lake City, according to officers.

Taking to Twitter yesterday, Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk criticised media coverage of this incident, saying: "It’s super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the ~40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in past year get almost no coverage."

He added: "What’s actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60mph and the driver only broke an ankle.

"An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death."

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was not investigating the Utah crash. Tesla said it had not yet received car data and did not yet know the facts, including whether Autopilot was engaged.

Last week, the NTSB said it was investigating a Tesla accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that killed two teenagers and injured another.