A Tesla Semi electric truck caught fire on Interstate 880 in Hayward, California, on Tuesday evening, shutting the freeway in both directions because of the risk of hazardous smoke, the California Highway Patrol said.
The truck caught fire at about 5:35 p.m. in the southbound lanes near Route 92, and its lithium-ion battery was burning, the CHP said, according to local media reports. Battery fires produce dangerous fumes and are very difficult to extinguish, the agency said.
The driver told the CHP the truck “simply caught fire” and did not know why. No one was injured, and the cause is under investigation.
Tesla has not commented publicly on the fire as of publication time.
A fire expected to burn for hours
The CHP closed both directions of I-880 between Winton Avenue and Route 92 by 5:45 p.m. “A Tesla semi-truck has caught fire on I-880, resulting in a complete shutdown of both northbound and southbound lanes due to the potential risk of hazardous chemical smoke,” its Hayward office wrote on X.
The CHP said at 7:45 p.m. that the fire was expected to burn for 15 to 18 hours and that the southbound lanes would stay closed until it was out. The northbound lanes reopened at 8:40 p.m.
Later on Tuesday night, the CHP said all southbound lanes remained blocked at Winton Avenue, with traffic diverted to the Winton Avenue off-ramp. It gave no estimated time of reopening and told drivers to expect extreme delays.
Removing the truck could take some time, the CHP told NBC Bay Area, which reported heavy backups in both directions for several hours. Southbound I-880 remained closed between A Street and Highway 92 late on Tuesday, with no estimated time for a full reopening, according to the broadcaster.
Photos posted by the CHP show firefighters spraying water and foam on the burned-out cab, which was coupled to a box trailer.
I-880 is one of the main freight corridors on the east side of San Francisco Bay, linking the Port of Oakland with San Jose.
An earlier Semi fire on I-80
The fire follows a 2024 crash in which a burning Semi closed another California interstate for hours.
On August 19, 2024, a previous-generation Semi driven by a Tesla employee from Livermore, California, to a Tesla facility in Sparks, Nevada, left Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap, hit a tree and caught fire, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Firefighters used about 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire and cool the batteries, and the westbound lanes were closed for about 14 hours and the eastbound lanes for about 15 hours, the NTSB said in its preliminary report.
CAL FIRE dropped retardant from an aircraft as a precaution, and Tesla sent a technical expert to help assess the high-voltage hazards.
The truck’s driver-assistance system could not be engaged at the time, the NTSB said. Its investigation page still lists the findings as preliminary, with no probable cause issued.
Unlike that crash, the Hayward fire happened with no collision reported. The CHP has not said whether the truck was operated by Tesla or a customer, or what the trailer was carrying.
What Tesla tells firefighters
Tesla’s guidance for emergency responders on the Semi, filed in the NTSB’s docket for the 2024 crash, describes a lithium-ion battery in a high-voltage system rated at 1,000 volts, with sealed cells. Tesla publishes a rescue sheet for the truck on its first-responder site.
The guide tells crews to “use large amounts of water to cool the battery enclosure” and warns of “possible battery re-ignition.” It says not to submerge the truck to put out a battery fire.
After a fire, responders should monitor the battery’s temperature for at least 24 hours, check it again before transport and store the truck outside at least 50 feet from other vehicles and structures, the guide says. It gives no figure for how much water a fire may take.
A month into volume production
The fire comes a month after Tesla began high-volume production of the Semi at a dedicated plant in Sparks designed to build 50,000 trucks a year. Tesla first unveiled the truck in November 2017 and delivered its first hand-built units to PepsiCo in December 2022.
The Semi is sold in Standard Range and Long Range versions rated at up to 325 miles and 500 miles. A shippers’ alliance whose founding members include Microsoft and PepsiCo picked Tesla in September as the primary manufacturer for an order of 2,500 electric trucks, and drone footage before the launch event showed Semis in the colors of fleets that had not announced orders, including US Foods.
Tesla has since lined up new fleet orders, including from IMC, and is building charging for the truck at Pilot travel centers. It plans European deliveries in 2027.
Large battery fires are a growing concern for firefighters as electric trucks scale up. Lithium-ion cells can reignite after they appear to be out, which is why responders monitored the 2024 truck’s battery temperature for 24 hours afterward, according to the NTSB.
