Thieves Stole ‘Nvidia’ Trailers. They Got 20 Tons of Sand

Two trailers carrying PlusAI and Nvidia branding were taken from outside PlusAI’s Newark, California warehouse, locks broken, then recovered with about 20,000 pounds of sand in each still intact.

PlusAI uses simulated loads for R&D testing; the actual AI truck cabs stayed inside the warehouse. Fremont police are investigating; no arrests yet.

The near-miss sits in a wave of cargo theft aimed at data-center gear, Tesla batteries, and mining hardware—including escort-vehicle hits WIRED reported in August.

A darkly funny headline with a serious backdrop. Somebody saw Nvidia on a trailer and assumed silicon. They got silica. PlusAI and Nvidia collaborate on AI software and autonomous truck tech; the logos were bait enough.

We’re glad the sand came home and nobody is reporting a GPU heist here. We’re not relaxed. Verisk CargoNet still flags enterprise computing gear and metals as top cargo targets. When the world’s most valuable chip company is the brand on the canvas, opportunistic theft follows the sticker.

Useful autonomous-truck testing needs realistic weight. It does not need to advertise treasure. If this scales, expect more decoy loads—and more violent hits on the loads that are real.

I’m watching whether PlusAI and peers change how conspicuously they brand test trailers parked overnight.

Aarian Marshall and Paresh Dave, WIRED, September 25, 2026. Police recovered the trailers the same afternoon.