CCTV9英语新闻：电动汽车巨头市场扩大却也面临安全疑虑（在线收听）

American electric-car giant, Tesla Motors, has its sights set on China. The company has just delivered eight electronic vehicles to customers and unveiled its charging station in Shanghai this week. But several battery fires have raised concerns about the safety of the electric car. 

People are excited, but a little worried about Tesla electric cars. Tesla’s Model S is dubbed the world’s first premium electric car, providing a possible solution to air pollution in big cities. The sedan entered the global market last June, but since then five fires have been reported, causing jitters among enthusiastic investors and buyers.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors has defended the car’s safety.

With several batteries lining the bottom of the car, Tesla’s Model S is capable of travelling 500 kilometers after being fully charged. But buyers say such a large quantity of batteries is like a moving time bomb. Still, Elon Musk says electric cars are safer than those with petrol engines that haul around a tank full of flammable petroleum.

After the delivery of the first batch of electric cars, Tesla is planning to invest several hundred million dollars in charging infrastructure in China. Musk has said that the fires are very rare, and they shouldn’t give prospective buyers any pause.

But with the high cost of around 730，000 yuan and having to put off customers’ doubts about safety, Tesla may still have a long way to go convincing people to buy.