A Tesla executive has issued a key comment about a recent semi fire incident which resulted in the shutdown of Golden State (5) Freeway’s southbound lanes on Saturday.
Contrary to speculations from anti-electric vehicle critics, the flames reportedly began in the diesel truck carrying the Teslas, not the electric vehicles themselves.
The incident
As noted in an ABC7 report, a car carrier loaded with eight Teslas caught fire on the Golden State Freeway in Sylmar late Saturday, forcing authorities to close southbound lanes as responders battled flames and smoke. The fire was initially reported around 5:35 p.m., and it left six Teslas destroyed. The car carrier truck was heavily damaged as well.
The Los Angeles Fire Department declared the fire out roughly four hours later, at 9:30 p.m. No injuries were reported from the incident. The driver of the semi was also unharmed. However, the fire caused notable congestion in traffic as officials worked to reopen the freeway. Truck lanes remained closed for hours to manage hazardous runoff and debris.
Tesla’s context
Amidst reports of the incident, rumors online emerged suggesting that Teslas being transported likely caused the blaze. Fortunately, Tesla VP for Supply Chain Roshan Thomas clarified that this was not the case. He also noted that Tesla is working really hard to ensure that the vehicles that were damaged in the unfortunate incident are replaced as quickly as possible.
“The third-party logistics (3PL) semi-truck caught fire first. Thankfully, the driver is ok; unfortunately the Teslas sustained damage. We will be looking to replace the vehicles for our intended customers as soon as we can. A very unfortunate accident,” the Tesla VP wrote in a post on X.
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