Tesla’s gigafactory evacuated after 1 hospitalized in chemical spill

SPARKS — One person has been hospitalized after a chemical spill forced the evacuation of part of Tesla’s giant battery factory in northern Nevada.

Storey County fire officials say a HAZMAT crew was called out Monday afternoon but there was never a threat to public health at the industrial park along Interstate 80 east of Reno.

Joe Curtis, the county’s emergency operations director, said more than a half-dozen workers became ill and one was sent to a Reno hospital as a precaution after the spill was reported at about 12:15 p.m.

Curtis says an unidentified cleaning agent in a 55-gallon barrel overturned in an isolated area near a vehicle. He says only a portion of the factory had to be evacuated. He said crews were working to clean up the spill.