Tesla Semi Fire Shuts I-880 for 10 Hours — SkimNews
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- Tesla Semi caught fire around 5:35 p.m. Tuesday in the southbound lanes of I-880 near Route 92 in Hayward without a crash; the driver exited unhurt and no other vehicles were involved.
- CHP initially warned of a 15-to-18-hour battery burn, but crews beat that estimate; all lanes reopened around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday after roughly 10 hours, with hazardous-smoke concerns prompting the closure of both directions.
- Tesla had not commented, the operator remained unidentified and the cause was under investigation; the battery pack, high-voltage system, drive units, and a tire, brake or trailer fire were unresolved possibilities.
- NTSB found that the August 2024 Semi fire on I-80 near Emigrant Gap followed a crash: the truck left the road, hit a delineator post and a tree, and its battery ignited; crews used 50,000 gallons of water and lanes stayed closed for up to 15 hours.
- WattEV ordered 370 Semis in May, mostly for drayage at the Port of Oakland, only a few miles up I-880 from the Hayward fire; Tesla was named lead supplier for a 2,500-truck ZET SCALE order in September.
- Tesla began volume production of the Semi in Nevada this year after nearly a decade of delays, and PepsiCo’s fleet was up to about 86 trucks in 2024.
- NFPA data show U.S. fire departments responded to an average 15,462 large-truck fires a year from 2018-2022 in an overwhelmingly diesel fleet, with mechanical failure involved in 44% and collisions in 2%; government data put vehicle fires at one per 17 million miles, versus Tesla’s claimed one per 140 million.
Why it matters: California crews beat CHP’s initial 15-to-18-hour burn estimate, reopening all lanes around 3:30 a.m. But for Tesla and its Semi customers, the unresolved no-crash cause is consequential as volume production has begun alongside a 370-truck customer order and a 2,500-truck order with Tesla as lead supplier; a clear explanation and response plan are needed.
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