As a trucker, your goal is to get a load from point A to point B. But that’s impossible if your load is reduced to ashes. One truck driver in California lost an entire load of Tesla SUVs on the highway when a fire broke out. 

Car-carrier loaded with Tesla models burns in hazmat fire 

Please join us for a moment of silence to honor and commemorate the lives of six out of eight Tesla SUVs. They were finally going to their new homes, but died a painful death before ever meeting their drivers. 

California police officers and firefighters responded to reports of a fire around 5:35 PM. The incident occurred southbound on the Golden State Freeway just north of Balboa Boulevard. 

Emergency crews arrived to discover an apocalyptic scene. A trucker was lucky to be alive as his semi-truck went up in flames. 

The car-carrier  was hauling a load of Tesla SUVs that randomly ignited. The fire spread to each electric vehicle and engulfed the truck cab. 

Because the electric cars have lithium-ion batteries, the smoke was toxic. Each lane of traffic was shut down to protect the public. Along with toxic smoke, there was hazardous runoff to deal with. 

According to ABC 7, drivers were encouraged to avoid the smoke. Many alternate routes became available as the freeway was closed. 

The fire was finally put out hours later, around 9:30 pm. It took about three hours to remove the charred vehicles and semi-truck after the fire was under control. The company that owns the carrier retrieved the two surviving SUVs.