Shares of electric car company Tesla were hammered as trading began Thursday, falling 4.6%, but the stock later recovered a bit, trimming its losses to the 2% to 3% range.

An Internet video earlier in the week showed flames spewing from one of the company's vehicles near Seattle.

The incident happened Tuesday after 8 a.m. as a driver was traveling southbound on state Route 167 through Kent, said Trooper Chris Webb of the Washington State Patrol. The driver stated that he believed he had struck some metal debris on the freeway, so he exited the highway and the vehicle became disabled.

The driver told authorities he began to smell something burning and then the vehicle caught fire. Firefighters needed several attempts to extinguish the flames because the blaze kept reigniting, Webb said. A trooper who responded to the scene was unable to locate any objects on the roadway, but Department of Transportation workers did observe some debris near the scene.

On Wednesday, shares in Tesla Motors stock lost $12.05 per share to close at $180.95 -- a 6.2% tumble. It was the stock's biggest one-day decline since July 16.

By: DocMemory
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