Tesla reports another fire at Fremont factory

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Flags fly outside of a Tesla building in Fremont, California.

Tesla confirmed a Thursday night fire contained to a cardboard bailing machine at its Fremont, California, factory, where the Model 3 electric sedan is being built. It is the latest in a series of fires to break out at the facility.

“Last night, the structure outside our factory that houses the cardboard and other wood and paper products that are being recycled caught fire,” a spokesperson from Tesla said. “There were no injuries and we’d like to thank the Fremont Fire department for putting it out quickly. We’re investigating the cause.”

The fire was unrelated to the new GA4 production line and did not affect production, according to Tesla.

That was not the case during the facility’s previous fire on June 17, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees in an email had halted production for several hours.

Musk warned employees to look out for foul play, asking them to “be on the alert for anything that’s not in the best interests of our company.”

Prior to last week’s fire, employees reported that there had been at least four fires at the facility’s paint shop since 2014. One in April was so severe that it stopped production for multiple shifts over the week.

– Lora Kolodny and Reuters contributed to this report.