A Tesla Semi on show at ACT Expo 2024. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Matters)
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In its first accident investigation of an electric-battery heavy truck, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board is inspecting the Aug. 19 crash of a 2024 Tesla Semi that burned to the bottom after it veered off Interstate 80 and slammed right into a tree within the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The crash and ensuing hearth are being investigated by NTSB, the Federal Motor Provider Security Administration, California Freeway Patrol and Tesla Inc.
The only-vehicle crash occurred at 3:13 a.m. as a Tesla driver, who sustained no reported accidents, was touring east on I-80 from Livermore, Calif., to Tesla Giga Nevada in Sparks, Nev. Tesla’s facility the place the electrical truck was heading is situated about an hour from Lake Tahoe, which spans California and Nevada. The power payments itself as “one of many world’s highest-volume crops for electrical motors, power storage merchandise, automobile powertrains and batteries — producing billions of cells per 12 months.”
The electrical Semi crash occurred close to Emigrant Hole in Placer County, a high-elevation ridge on the historic California Path west of Donner Go.
That location on I-80 has two concrete lanes in every course divided by a forested middle median and paved shoulders. The utmost posted pace restrict there may be 55 mph for industrial vans and 65 mph for passenger autos.
NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick instructed Transport Matters, “The investigation is ongoing and specializing in the emergency response to the occasion. That is the primary investigation involving an electrical truck-tractor.”
She famous that NTSB investigations can take one to 2 years to be accomplished. When NTSB introduced in mid-September that it had opened an investigation into the Tesla electrical tractor-trailer crash and hearth, it acknowledged, “All features of the crash stay below investigation whereas the NTSB determines the possible trigger, with the intent of issuing security suggestions to forestall related occasions.”
An FMCSA spokesperson acknowledged the company had no data to supply since NTSB is the first investigative federal authorities group wanting into the incident.
In line with NTSB, “The truck-tractor departed the roadway to the correct whereas navigating a right-hand curve and uphill grade. The automobile struck a visitors delineator completely mounted on a metal put up, collided with a tree about 12.5 inches in diameter and continued down an earthen slope to relaxation towards a number of timber.”
Then the truck’s lithium-ion electrical battery system ignited in a post-crash hearth. NTSB acknowledged that Tesla despatched a technical knowledgeable to the scene to assist with “assessing high-voltage hazards and hearth security.”
Tesla’s media relations didn’t reply to a Dec. 16 electronic mail from Transport Matters requesting remark concerning the incident and the present standing of the battery-powered electrical heavy truck growth.
Emergency responders tried to manage the blaze by dumping 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames and funky the truck’s batteries.
Did You Know?
50,000 gallons of water is estimated to fill a metal tank that’s 25 ft in diameter and 14.23 ft excessive and weighs 4,735 kilos.
Firefighters labored to forestall the fireplace from spreading to the encompassing forest. CAL FIRE deployed an airplane to the speedy space and doused it with hearth retardant to maintain the flames from inflicting extra harm.
A thermal scanner was deployed to observe the temperatures of the burning batteries. Each instructions of I-80 had been closed for about 15 hours till firefighters decided the batteries had been at a secure temperature for operations to start for recovering the truck.
The Tesla electrical Semi was then moved to an undisclosed open-air facility and monitored for twenty-four hours. In the course of the commentary interval, officers detected no reignition of the truck-tractor’s battery system.
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