September 12, 2024
An EV semi truck burns following a crash, when the truck’s lithium-ion battery system ignited, causing a post-crash fire, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says. On August 19, 2024, a Tesla Semi, a battery-electric truck-tractor, was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap in Placer County, California. The truck, operated by a Tesla employee who fortunately was unharmed, was en route from Livermore, California. The driver was going to a Tesla facility is located in Sparks, Nevada. At around 3:13 a.m., while navigating a right-hand curve on an uphill grade, the truck veered off the roadway to the right, hitting a traffic delineator and then a tree. The vehicle continued down a slope before coming to rest against additional trees.
The Concerning Result as the EV Semi-truck Burns
Following the crash, the truck’s lithium-ion battery system ignited, causing a post-crash fire. Emergency responders, including the California Highway Patrol, CAL FIRE, and Caltrans, arrived at the scene. It took around 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire and cool the batteries. To further prevent the fire from spreading to nearby forest areas, CAL FIRE deployed aircraft to apply fire retardant.
Due to the fire and safety precautions, both directions of I-80 were closed for 14 to 15 hours. The truck was later moved to an open-air facility and monitored for 24 hours to ensure no reignition of the battery system occurred.
NTSB Official Investigation
The NTSB is conducting an investigation, working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the California Highway Patrol, and Tesla, Inc. to determine the probable cause of the accident and issue safety recommendations to prevent similar incidents.