Green Inferno: Semi-Truck Carrying 8 Teslas Engulfed in Fire on Los Angeles Highway

A semi-truck transporting eight Tesla EVs caught fire on the 5 Freeway in Los Angeles, leading to extensive road closures and significant traffic disruptions on Saturday evening. The Los Angeles Fire Department has not disclosed the cause of the inferno that required a massive team of firefighters to put out.

KTLA reports that a semi-truck carrying a load of Tesla vehicles became engulfed in flames on the southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway in Sylmar, a suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles, at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) swiftly responded to the scene to combat the blaze which required a massive number of first responders and equipment to contain.

LAFD told Breitbart News that the cause of the fire had not been determined as of Monday morning. This article will be updated when additional information is available.

According to video footage from the incident, the truck was hauling at least eight Tesla vehicles when, for reasons still under investigation, the vehicle caught fire. The flames rapidly spread, consuming both the truck and several of the cars on the trailer. The intense fire posed a significant challenge for firefighters as they worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the remaining vehicles.

“”””When is the last time a gasoline-powered car just sitting there blew up?””””

In the 1990’s I had a Ford F-250. It started on fire while sitting in my driveway. It was not running and had been sitting for several hours. Apparently they had some issue with alternator wiring or something like that.

Didn’t have to look too far

February 12, 2012: “Tesla does not need to ever raise another funding round. We may want to do so, but we are in a strong cash position, and we don’t need to.”

Musk gave this answer in response to a question about the company’s liquidity and cash burn. Musk is often very careful with his language to qualify his bold statements and predictions, but the implication here seems to be that Tesla no longer needed to raise capital and dilute its shares. Since Musk made those statements, Tesla has completed 14 fundraising rounds, raising an additional $5 billion in funding as recently as December 2020.

January 10, 2016: “In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by borders, eg you’re in LA and the car is in NY.”

One of the most often-cited examples of Musk misleading Tesla users and investors involves the company’s autonomous vehicle technology, or lack thereof. In 2016, Musk promised Level 5 autonomous Tesla vehicles that could travel unmanned from Los Angeles to New York by 2018. In 2024, Tesla has only managed to deliver a Level 3 autonomous system that “requires a fully attentive driver who is ready to take immediate action at all times.”

The notorious “funding secured” tweet is one of the few instances in which Musk did not leave himself enough wiggle room to avoid regulatory fallout. When the SEC investigated Musk’s tweets, they found Musk’s tweet about a potential Tesla buyout “lacked an adequate basis in fact.” Musk and Tesla ultimately agreed to pay $40 million in penalties tied to the SEC fraud charges.

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