Tesla Semi fire closes a California freeway for hours
No one was reported hurt, and neither the California Highway Patrol nor Tesla has said what caused the electric truck's fire.
Daniel Lu / Wikimedia A Tesla Semi electric truck caught fire on Interstate 880 in Hayward, California, on 28 October (AEDT). The California Highway Patrol (CHP) closed the freeway both ways "due to the potential risk of hazardous chemical smoke".
The fire started in the southbound lanes near Route 92, Bay City News reported. The northbound lanes reopened at 2:40 pm AEDT on 28 October (8:40 pm Pacific time).
The CHP said the battery fire was very hard to put out. The southbound lanes stayed shut until about 9:30 pm AEDT on 28 October (3:30 am Pacific time), when all lanes reopened.
The Semi has not been announced for Australia or New Zealand, Auto Trader NZ reported on 26 September.
No cause and no injuries
No injuries were reported and no other vehicles were involved. CHP Officer Rolando Guzman told the San Francisco Chronicle the driver did not know why the truck caught fire.
Tesla has not commented publicly.
Rod Bland is the publisher and editor of Volts & Bots. He lives in Sydney and drives a Model Y L bought in Australia in 2026, with HW4 and FSD (Supervised). More about Rod Bland.