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Posted on 10/28/2026 6:04:14 PM PDT by george76
Hayward looks to be about two-thirds of the way up the I-880 if you were heading north to Oakland from San Jose. So, yeah - this had some sincere traffic impacts.
All lanes of Interstate 880 in Hayward are open Wednesday morning after an electric Tesla semitruck caught fire on the freeway during the Tuesday evening commute.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the fire was first reported in the southbound direction of the freeway between Winton Avenue and the Highway 92 interchange around 5:35 p.m. Officials closed the freeway in both directions due to the potential risk of hazardous chemical smoke.
And, man - what a fire.
...
Miraculously, the driver got out in one piece, and he said he had no idea what started it. All he knew was that his truck was suddenly on fire
...
.According to the CHP, the semi's lithium battery flames were incredibly difficult to extinguish.
The trucks driver only told patrol officers that the rig simply caught fire and didn't know why.
By the time the fire departments got the thing under control, you could see that there was little to nothing left of the cab. It melted down like a wet witch in a castle corner.
...
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) closed both directions due to the risk of hazardous chemical smoke. Northbound reopened at about 8:40 p.m.
- CHP said the battery fire could burn for 15–18 hours, and southbound would stay closed until it was out and the truck was safe to remove.
- No injuries were reported and no other vehicles were involved. The driver said the truck simply caught fire. The cause is under investigation.
Obviously, the cause is under investigation, and Pat from StacheD Training says they may never know what happened. There is so little left of the cab that it's going to be nearly impossible for investigators to pinpoint the reason it started, and once you hear about the size of the batteries in these things, that explains that.
Pat says depending on the model truck, it would have three battery packs, which 'roughly equate' to the batteries in seven to eight Tesla Model Y's.
...
The CHP said they needed the fire consuming the Tesla’s lithium ion battery cells to be fully extinguished before they re-opened the freeway.
Authorities diverted traffic off the freeway at Winton Avenue.
In a social media post, the CHP warned drivers to “expect extreme delays and use alternative routes if possible.”
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A similar fire happened in 2024 when a Tesla Semi crashed on Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap, about 70 miles northeast of Sacramento. The freeway was closed for about 15 hours while firefighters made sure the batteries were cool enough to recover the truck.
Tesla's getting kind of beaten up here, too, because they're the best-known ones who have these operating on the roads right now. Tesla lovers are sensitive to the fact that the name brand is in the headlines, where it probably wouldn't be were it any other manufacturer on earth. And it was easy to prove their point.
Here's a recent garbage truck fire headline. This vehicle fire also closed a major thoroughfare for a significant period, but good luck finding out who built the garbage truck.
Fresno crews battle electric garbage truck fire; road closure result
No, the problem isn't 'Tesla.' This name-checking in headlines is the media pounding Musk any way they can.
The problem is the technology to fight these fires hasn't kept up with what the vehicles are now capable of. Shoot - it hasn't kept up with putting out a spontaneous e-bike battery fire.
When one burning truck shuts down everything around it for half a day, if not longer, and uses up ten to twenty times the valuable resources to (hopefully) extinguish it, with legitimate concerns afterward about toxic chemical residues and fumes, etc., that's the problem.
It shouldn't be up to fire departments to figure it out on the fly, either.
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They should max the EV truck weight to match max diesel truck weight....IOW, less freight weight.
Therefore less payload to comply with the law. Imagine trying to do the same thing with an electric truck that ice road truckers do.
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“...drivers zoom past the burning truck quickly.”
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Not in my experience; hence, “rubberneckers”...
Li-NMC. Even though LFP batteries are suppose to be safer they can put off more hydrogen fluoride (HF) and carbon monoxide (CO) when they go boom...
You’re right about that. My son’s beater pickup caught fire. The fully engulfed truck was extinguished in just a couple minutes. If he had not melted the keys to his semi he was heading to, he would have barely gotten a late start for his OTR trucker job.
“By the time the fire departments got the thing under control, you could see that there was little to nothing left of the cab. It melted down like a wet witch in a castle corner.”
The punchline of the article😁
There is no “issue” with the Tesla batteries.
Tesla is set to produce 50,000 semis per year and production is pretty much already sold out. The Teslas are being purchased with orders for hundreds at a time
Well..this one had an issue, bert.
This is not a condemnation of Teslas. This is a condemnation of current battery technology overall.
Tesla no doubt makes the best available batteries. But they are still batteries with current technology.
These days I find myself wondering about every lithium battery in my house, and how I would deal with one of those devices deciding to burst into flames in the middle of the night.
The reaction of many EV enthusiasts is often “ICE vehicles catch fire too...and that is true.
They do.
But when ICE vehicles catch fire, it is often mechanical damage (from debris) or faulty maintenance, and as you point out, is more easily extinguished, often in the case of a prepared driver, with a fire extinguisher. (I carry one on my car, and a trucker would most definitely have one.
When an EV battery goes up, there is no visible cause, and no warning, and once started, it can’t be easily extinguished. That is the problem. There is a lot of energy stored in those batteries in chemical form, and once an exothermic chemical reaction begins, with all that energy behind it, it will resist efforts to extinguish it.
I like the concept of electric vehicles, the torque, the smoothness, the lack of engine noise, but the weak part is the battery and charging process. I would buy one if not for that.
I think if you check, you find that Tesla semi batteries are made with Tesla technology that is not what you believe
Indeed. I have four large batteries for two electric bikes I own, and I consider that as well. I have to keep them in the house, because storing them at subzero temps for a long time is not something that should be done. (These are American made electric bikes, not some cheesy Chinese product, so the batteries are made to higher standards, even if the batteries themselves were manufactured over in China.)
Which means I have to store them in my garage. I am thinking of investigating those special containers you can store batteries like that in, but...I may have to give up riding the bikes (I only ride them on special bike trails-going on the road with bikes is very risky nowadays in my opinion, and I fastidiously avoid it) because I have developed severe issues in my neck. I will have to see how that shakes out, but...that would be depressing.
I do enjoy riding them.
Not sure what you mean, bert. Are you saying that Tesla semi batteries are NOT made with Tesla technology, or that they ARE, and you think I don’t believe that?
The way you wrote that was confusing.
By the way, I assume Tesla Semi batteries are made fully by Tesla with Tesla technology, so it isn’t that I think they are putting cheaper or lower quality batteries in them.
My contention is that battery technology, as currently constituted, is fundamentally flawed, and all EV batteries, Tesla or non-Tesla, share that limitation, though I am pretty sure Tesla batteries are better engineered than any other EV batteries used by any other car manufacturer.
But in the end, they are still batteries that store a huge amount of energy in a chemical form, and that is a fundamental flaw (and potential danger) that all high-storage battery systems share.
I am not badmouthing Tesla vehicles or technology, FRiend. I rather admire them.
If it bursts into flames, don't try putting it out. That said, I don't remember any fires for computers and held devices in recent memory. I would worry about ebike batteries and EVs that have recalls for battery problems.
I just read that fast moving fires like what happened in Pacific Palisades cause all kinds of toxic problems. EVs, battery storage devices for solar and any household devices burn up emitting toxic gases
$5 Billion from the Federal government alsone.
-—I think——
What you think is of no consequence.
The very large American corporations have purchased and are purchasing thousands of the Tesla semi’s. They are doing so because of the outstanding performance records of existing tesla semi fleets.
The primary reason for the purchases is costs. The Teslas cost less to own and operate than any other semi currently on the market. The largest semi broker in the world placed a tremendously large order for the Semi’s to service the contract for Amazon deliveries.
Your reasoning about Tesla batteries is not borne out by the reality that indicates otherwise.
And get this...... The Tesla’s have self driving capability that can be implemented if required. The interstates of Texas already have FSD semi’s of non Tesla manufacture in service. Tesla is going to eat all those competitors alive.
bert, there is no need to be uncivil, saying “What you think is of no consequence”. I am not sure why you are taking such exception.
I would not characterize you or your posts in that fashion, I generally respect what you have to say about things, even if I don’t always agree with you.
You are obviously a “fan boy” of Tesla and Musk, and I see no problem with that because...I am too.
I don’t see any reason to be uncivil. We disagree, and that shouldn’t be reason for that.
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