Fire sparked by faulty Tesla charger caused $4m in damage to ex-NFL star’s Nashville home, lawsuit says

As the flames spread from the garage, the Cobbs fled with “nothing but the clothes on our back and no shoes on our feet,” Aiyda, 36, wrote on Instagram at the time. However, their 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid, and a traditional gas-powered Mercedes SUV, were completely incinerated, according to a civil complaint filed by AIG, Cobb’s insurer, against Tesla. The blaze quickly grew, doing “extensive” damage to the rest of the house – which Zillow values at $5.2 million – before firefighters were able to extinguish it, AIG’s complaint says.

“Two independent expert investigations were conducted following the fire,” according to the complaint, which provides fresh detail on how exactly the conflagration began and how much destruction it caused. “Both expert investigations concluded that the fire originated from the Tesla charging cable.”

The investigators assigned blame for the fire to “an arc… resulting from failure of internal insulation on the conductors of the cable.” They “further concluded that the failure… was the result of a defect in the cable, not from any misuse or external factors,” the complaint states.

AIG is now suing Tesla in an attempt to recover the money it paid out to Cobb following the incident.

Since 2011, some 232 Teslas have caught fire, resulting in 83 fatalities. While Tesla home charging stations are unlikely to go up in flames, substandard installation by corner-cutting contractors can raise the danger considerably. (Last July, a two-story house in the Dallas area caught fire after a Tesla charger that reportedly malfunctioned.) Tesla’s marketing materials emphasize that electric vehicles themselves catch fire less often than gas-powered ones. But, battery fires burn hotter and are much more difficult to put out.

In one staggering example, after a Tesla Cybertruck rolled into a ditch in 2024, it burst into flames so intense, the driver's skeletal system literally disintegrated, according to a lawsuit later filed by his widow.

The attorney representing AIG in its suit against Tesla declined to comment on the case, citing active litigation. A Tesla spokesperson, as well as the attorney representing Tesla in the case brought by AIG, did not respond to requests for comment.

In the summer of 2022, Cobb bought a 5-bed, 8-bath home in the Green Hills section of Nashville, according to AIG’s complaint, which was initially filed in state court on December 30 before being removed to federal court on February 2.

“Inside, you'll find a thoughtfully designed layout that blends space and functionality,” the 7,500-square-foot home’s original listing reads. “The chef’s kitchen flows seamlessly into an elegant formal dining room – perfect for entertaining. Outdoor living shines here, with a private pool, screened porch, and a fully equipped pool house featuring its own kitchen and bath – ideal for summer barbecues and al fresco dining... Upstairs, a spacious media room with wet bar provides the perfect spot to relax or host guests.”

That same year, Cobb, a standout player at the University of Kentucky before he was selected 64th overall in the 2011 NFL draft, leased a Model S Plaid from a local Tesla showroom, the complaint says. AIG, it continues, provided insurance on both the home and the vehicle.

Cobb had a dedicated 240-volt outlet installed in the home’s garage, “specifically for charging the Tesla,” the complaint goes on. The car came with a charging cable, supplied by Tesla as an “original equipment manufacturer” part, the complaint states.

One day two summers ago, the breaker for the branch circuit and dedicated outlet tripped “for no identified reason while the Tesla was charging,” according to the complaint. It says Cobb reset the circuit breaker, and the car resumed charging “as expected.”

On the morning of July 25, 2024, Cobb took the Model S out for a drive, the complaint explains. When he got back home, Cobb pulled into the garage and connected the car to the charging cable.

“According to Tesla's records, the vehicle stopped charging at 9:32 PM on July 25, 2024,” the complaint states. “At approximately 9:51 PM on July 25, 2024, smoke alarms alerted [Cobb] and his family to a fire in the garage.”

When Cobb rushed in to see what was happening, he “observed flames in the area behind the Tesla at the garage wall,” the complaint says. Firefighters responded to the scene and put out the blaze, with Cobb praising one first responder as a “true hero.”

“I truly thought the cars were going to explode and we would lose him to this tragedy,” he wrote on Instagram the following day.

The Tesla charging cable was responsible for touching off the fire, according to a pair of independent investigations into the cause, the complaint states, specifying the issue as “a defect in the internal insulation on the conductors that caused it to arc and ignite during normal use.”

“As a result of the fire, [Cobb] suffered real and personal property damage to his residence, damage to the Tesla, and damage to a Mercedes SUV, for total damages in excess of $4 million,” according to the complaint.

It claims that Tesla had a duty to warn Cobb “of any dangers associated with the charging cable,” and that the company “failed” to do so. The cable was “not fit for its ordinary purpose of safely charging the Tesla vehicle,” since it “directly and proximately caused the fire at [Cobb’s] residence on July 25, 2024,” the complaint states.

AIG “has paid or will pay” the damages submitted in a claim by Cobb, and is seeking repayment from Tesla in an amount to be determined by a jury, “but in excess of $4 million.”

Tesla now has until March 4 to file a formal answer to AIG’s complaint.