Tesla engineers spill river of lime green liquid during AI lab mishap into the streets of San Francisco
Tesla could face hefty fines after a chemical spill at their Palo Alto factory entered the city’s drainage system.
The luminous liquid, which the Palo Alto Fire Department says is a harmless mixture of borax, lye and green food coloring, flowed from the Bay Area office.
City resident Mike Hedblom first discovered the fluorescent leak during an evening walk last Thursday, prompting him to upload a snippet of the footage to an online portal.
After being unable to contact a city number because it was out of hours, he contacted police.
Although it has since been cleaned up, officials said they would investigate the spill because Elon Musk-owned Tesla does not have a permit to store sodium hydroxide.
The luminescent liquid, which the Palo Alto Fire Department says is a harmless mixture of borax, lye and green food coloring, spilled from the Bay Area office.
Although it has since been cleaned up, officials said they would investigate the spill because Tesla is not licensed to store sodium hydroxide.
Speak with SFGateHedblom said, “I didn’t know what it was. But I didn’t think it was right.’
Hedblom said Tesla personnel also showed up on the scene and used absorbent sanitary towels to clean it up.
He said their “very basic” supplies were not enough to clean up the spill, and a fire truck later arrived.
According to an October 18 leak report, the fluid was “used for the cooling system to cool the Tesla Artificial Intelligence Supercomputer.”
It said the spill occurred while Tesla personnel were pumping out the system, with the mixture entering the storm drain, gutter and Matadero Creek.
The report continues: “The Palo Alto Fire Department removed approximately 550 gallons of the mixture from the storm drain.
“The incident occurred while Tesla personnel were clearing the system.”
According to a post on the Palo Alto city website, Tesla had reported that only 12 liters of fluid was released, with the remainder designated as water.
The city said the liquid managed to flow through a canal to nearby John Boulware Park, where it was contained without hitting any “natural areas.”
According to an October 18 leak report, the fluid was “used for the cooling system to cool the Tesla Artificial Intelligence Supercomputer.”
Officials have said they would investigate the spill because Elon Musk-owned Tesla does not have a permit to store sodium hydroxide.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and California Governor Gavin Newsom are seen touring the Palo Alto headquarters in February 2023
The message added: ‘In addition to the clean-up work, an investigation into the cause is also underway. The storage of sodium hydroxide requires a municipal permit, which Tesla has not obtained.”
The city also determined that the substance did not pose a “risk to life and health,” but the National Institutes of Health says sodium hydroxide is poisonous if ingested.
It also says it is corrosive to metals and tissues and can irritate the skin, eyes and mucous membranes.
In an update on Thursday, the city said: “Staff will conclude their investigation upon completion of this incident and appropriate regulatory actions will follow, including reimbursement for remediation and cleanup costs and possible fines.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to Tesla for comment.