A Tesla Semi caught fire on Interstate 880 in Hayward, California, on Tuesday evening, and there was no crash. The electric truck’s lithium-ion battery burned long enough to keep the southbound freeway closed for about 10 hours.
The driver got out unhurt. But a Class 8 electric truck catching fire on its own, in traffic, is something Tesla and its growing list of Semi customers need to explain.
What happened on I-880
The fire broke out at around 5:35 p.m. PT in the southbound lanes near Route 92. CHP Hayward then closed I-880 in both directions, citing “the potential risk of hazardous chemical smoke,” and posted these photos from the scene:
The driver told officers the truck caught fire and that they didn’t know why. No other vehicles were involved.
Northbound reopened Tuesday night. Southbound took much longer. CHP initially warned that the battery could burn for 15 to 18 hours, but crews beat that estimate, and CHP Hayward posted that all lanes were open at around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The CHP photos show firefighters laying foam around the burned-out tractor, with the front of a Premier Trailer Leasing trailer charred behind it. The truck’s operator hasn’t been identified, and Tesla, which doesn’t have a press office, hasn’t commented. The cause is under investigation.
The second Semi fire to close a California interstate
We’ve been here before. In August 2024, a Tesla-operated Semi caught fire on I-80 near Emigrant Gap while driving from Livermore to Tesla’s facility in Sparks, Nevada. At the time, no crash was reported. The NTSB later found the truck had left the road on a curve, hit a delineator post and a tree, and its battery ignited after the impact. Firefighters used about 50,000 gallons of water, and the lanes stayed closed for up to 15 hours.
Hayward is different. Without a crash, the focus shifts to the truck itself: the battery pack, the high-voltage system, the drive units, or something as ordinary as a tire or brake fire that spread.
And the timing isn’t great for Tesla. The company only started volume production of the Semi in Nevada this year, after nearly a decade of delays. WattEV ordered 370 Semis in May, mostly for drayage at the Port of Oakland, just a few miles up I-880 from where Tuesday’s truck burned. In September, Tesla was also named lead supplier on a 2,500-truck ZET SCALE order.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
