On Monday, August 19, 2024, a 2024 Tesla Semi, a battery-electric truck-tractor, was involved in a serious single-vehicle accident while travelling east on Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap, Placer County, California. The truck, driven by a Tesla employee, was en route from Livermore, California, to a Tesla facility in Sparks, Nevada, when it veered off the roadway around 3:13 a.m.
The vehicle left the highway while navigating a right-hand curve and an uphill grade, striking a traffic delineator mounted on a steel post and colliding with a tree. The impact caused the truck-tractor to continue down a slope, where it came to rest against several trees. Following the crash, the Tesla Semi’s lithium-ion battery system ignited, leading to a post-crash fire. Fortunately, the driver escaped without injury.
Emergency responders, including the California Highway Patrol (CHP), CAL FIRE, and Caltrans, arrived on the scene to tackle the blaze. Tesla also dispatched a technical expert to help manage the high-voltage hazards posed by the vehicle’s battery. Firefighters used approximately 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire and cool the truck’s battery system. As a precaution, CAL FIRE deployed an aircraft to apply fire retardant in the surrounding area to prevent the spread of the fire into nearby forests.
The incident caused significant traffic disruptions, with both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-80 remaining closed for 14 to 15 hours. Authorities closely monitored the vehicle’s batteries using thermal scanners to ensure that the risk of reignition was mitigated. After the truck was transported to an open-air facility, it was observed for 24 hours, during which no further issues with the battery system were detected.
The incident highlights the challenges posed by electric vehicle battery fires, requiring significant resources and extended firefighting efforts to fully extinguish and ensure public safety.
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