Early on the morning of November 27, a tragic accident occurred in Northern California when a Tesla Cybertruck crashed and caught fire, killing 3 people and seriously injuring 1 person. 

Piedmont Police Chief Jeremy Bowers said speed was likely a factor in the crash, and stressed that authorities will continue to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

The Cybertruck was returning from an undisclosed event at about 3:10 a.m., Bowers said. Another person who was also at the event, but traveling in a separate vehicle, was able to pull the survivor out of the vehicle. Police declined  

to identify the victims out of respect for the family’s privacy.  

Although officers were unable to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers, firefighters were able to quickly bring it under control.  

Piedmont Fire Chief Dave Brannigan said the speed with which the fire was extinguished suggested the Cybertruck’s large lithium-ion batteries were unlikely to have started the fire. He said it was more likely a “typical vehicle fire” than a problem unique to the vehicle.

Regarding recent Cybertruck recalls, Bowers said, “There is no indication at this time that a mechanical defect was the primary cause of the crash.”  

However, the Cybertruck, which has been on sale for about a year, has been recalled six times for safety issues, the most recent on November 5 for a problem with the electric inverter that caused the wheels to lose power.

Other issues include the rear camera not displaying immediately when backing up, trim that could fall off, windshield wipers that didn’t work, and the incorrect font size on the warning signs. The vehicle was also recalled in April to fix an issue where the accelerator pedal could get stuck in the interior.  

The incident occurred in Piedmont, about 2.5 miles northeast of Oakland.