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It Takes Almost 200,000 Litres Of Water To Extinguish A Burning Tesla Semi Truck
An electric car that has caught fire is often a headache for firefighters. Putting out an electric truck that has caught fire is an even bigger problem. In the United States, an electric truck from Tesla caught fire. Almost 200,000 litres of water were needed to extinguish the monster, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Tesla sells electric cars such as the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X, as well as an electric truck: the Semi. The Tesla Semi is not for sale in Europe but has been available in its home country of the United States for some time. On Monday, August 19, a Semi driven by a Tesla employee veered off the road on Interstate 80 – en route to the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks (Nevada) – in a bend. The vehicle rammed straight through a 30-centimetre-thick tree and stopped against several trees further on.
The driver escaped unscathed, thankfully. The Tesla Semi did not. The lithium-ion battery pack caught fire, and not only did the California Highway Patrol respond to the incident, but also the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Tesla even sent a technical expert to assist with the burning truck. The fire department needed no less than 50,000 gallons (189,271 litres) of water to extinguish the fire and to further cool the Semi’s battery pack. As a precaution, a fire retardant was dumped over the immediate area around the Semi by an aeroplane. The Tesla Semi was eventually moved to an open area where it was monitored for 24 hours. The battery pack did not re-ignite.
Full-scale production of the Tesla Semi is planned for late 2025, but small series of the Semi have been delivered to companies such as PepsiCo since 2022.
