technology
Eleven Tesla Battery Trailers Stolen From Nevada Facilities Since December
Wired reported at least 11 trailers of Tesla car and home batteries stolen from Nevada loading docks since December 2025. Storey County investigators recorded 17 cargo thefts involving Tesla and other firms this year, with three arrests in one case. Tesla has added driver verification at the gate after early lapses.
WiredAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
At least 11 trailers carrying millions of dollars in Tesla car and home batteries have been stolen from loading docks at the company's Nevada facilities since December 2025, according to Storey County Sheriff's records reported by Wired. Storey County Sheriff's Detective Sam Hatley called the incidents an epidemic.
Investigators are tracking 17 alleged cargo thefts this year involving Tesla and other businesses in the county.
One operation that targeted Tesla also struck battery recycler Redwood Materials. Three men were arrested in January 2026 and charged with felony possession of stolen property in connection with one theft. Their cases are scheduled for trial in October.
The first documented cases occurred in December 2025. Two trailers each loaded with more than $475,000 worth of Powerwall 3 residential battery systems were taken by an unlicensed carrier. Both were recovered empty about 500 miles away in Southern California.
Tesla security later located some of the units offered for sale online. Tesla reported one additional theft that month and nine more in January. On January 19 a trailer holding 123 Powerwalls bound for Hayward, California, was stolen after a freight broker assigned the load to an illegitimate carrier.
Two more trailers, each valued at roughly $500,000, were taken in the following four days. GPS data led officers to both; one was empty and the other was recovered intact at a gas station 18 miles from the factory. Detectives placed a GPS tracker on the recovered trailer to catch returning thieves.
