A handful of lawmakers in California are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to delay the electric vehicle fleet mandate. Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey, along with other GOP legislators, sent a letter to Newsom Tuesday asking him to hold off on the state mandate for big rigs to be all-electric by 2045.
This comes after a Tesla big rig caught fire in Placer County early Monday and shut down Interstate 80 for nearly 16 hours. Lackey adds another truck carrying lithium-ion batteries overturned and caught fire in San Bernardino County closing Interstate 15 for two days in July, leaving drivers stranded. Lackey believes California isn’t ready to adopt the clean fleet mandate and needs to create a plan for responding to electric truck fires.
GOP Assemblyman Tom Lackey says these massive highway shutdowns endanger lives and livelihoods.