The ferocity of the blaze illustrates the novel challenges involved in combating lithium-ion battery fires when electric vehicles combust - and as such, the profound obstacles to a sustainable EV trucking infrastructure.
According to the NTSB investigation, the crash took place on August 19 at around 3 am, when the Tesla Semi, driven by an employee of the automaker, veered off the freeway while rounding a curve.
Along with the 50,000 gallons of water that was sprayed on the burning wreckage, firefighters also had to dump fire retardant on the scene from an aircraft. This was an incredibly expensive fire to put out.
Luckily, the driver made it out unharmed. But soon after, the Tesla Semi's battery ignited, resulting in the fire that required emergency responders to close the freeway for 15 hours.
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