DETROIT—A crash and large fire along a California freeway involving an electric Tesla Semi has attracted the attention of federal safety investigators.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board stated on Thursday that it is dispatching a team of investigators from the Office of Highway Safety to primarily investigate fire risks associated with lithium-ion batteries.
The team will collaborate with the California Highway Patrol to “examine the wreckage and gather details about the events leading up to the collision and the subsequent fire response,” as per the agency’s statement.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Tesla Semi was traveling east on Interstate 80 around 3:15 a.m. on Monday near Emigrant Gap, approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Sacramento, when it veered off the road and crashed into trees near the right shoulder.
The battery ignited, emitting toxic fumes and reaching a temperature of 1,000 degrees, which forced firefighters to wait for it to burn out, reported the Highway Patrol. The Tesla driver survived the crash and was transported to a hospital, while the freeway was temporarily shut down.
The battery continued to burn into the late afternoon as firefighters worked to cool it down for cleanup. The freeway did not reopen until 7:20 p.m., authorities noted.
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A request for comment on the crash and fire from Tesla was made on Thursday.
Following an investigation that concluded in 2021, the NTSB determined that fires from high-voltage electric vehicle batteries present risks to first responders and that manufacturers’ guidelines on how to handle them were insufficient.
The agency, which lacks enforcement authority and can only provide recommendations, urged manufacturers to develop vehicle-specific response manuals for combating battery fires and preventing chemical thermal runaway and reignition. The guidelines should also cover how to safely store vehicles with damaged lithium-ion batteries, the agency emphasized.
Tesla commenced deliveries of the electric Semis in December 2022, more than three years after CEO Elon Musk announced that his company would begin producing the trucks. Musk has stated that the Semi can travel 500 miles (800 kilometers) per charge while pulling an 82,000-pound (37,000-kilo) load.
