Recently in the United States, authorities have launched an investigation focusing on battery risks after a fire broke out in a Tesla electric truck while driving.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on the 22nd (local time) that it has started a safety investigation into the Tesla electric truck that caught fire on a highway in Northern California, in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
In a statement, the NTSB said the investigation was initiated due to fire risks related to lithium-ion batteries, explaining, "We will examine the debris and collect detailed information about the incident, including the crash and subsequent fire response." Bloomberg News reported that this is the first investigation into Tesla's Semi truck.
Earlier, at around 3 a.m. on the 19th, a Tesla electric truck 'Semi' driving on a highway about 113 km northeast of Sacramento, California, suddenly veered off the road and collided with a tree beside the shoulder. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the battery caught fire, with temperatures rising above 500 degrees Celsius at one point, and firefighters had to wait without being able to extinguish the fire for four hours while the battery was burning.
Previously, in 2021, the NTSB investigated Tesla electric vehicle fires and emphasized the risks of electric vehicle battery fires. This was due to the difficulties first responders such as firefighters and rescue workers face in extinguishing such fires. The NTSB also found that manufacturers’ guidelines on how to handle fires were inadequate. At that time, the NTSB recommended that electric vehicle manufacturers develop detailed vehicle-specific response guides for battery fires.
Tesla first unveiled the Semi in November 2017 and delivered the first completed vehicle to the food and beverage company PepsiCo in December 2022. However, mass production has not yet been achieved. On the same day, Tesla’s stock closed at $210.66 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 5.65% from the previous trading day.
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