Imagine if you are a thief, and you have spotted a trailer carrying Nvidia and PlusAI branding. You decide to steal that trailer, fully expecting it to be packed with gaming technology and more goodness. So imagine opening it up to find it full of 20,000lbs worth of sand.
Incredibly, that very scenario recently played out in California. WIRED reported that two trailers with Nvidia and PlusAI branding had been stolen, with Nvidia the most valuable company in the world right now. So it made some sense for thieves to target the trailers.
As it transpired, the thieves likely abandoned their load pretty quickly when they realized what was inside them. It turned out that each of the trailers had 20,000lbs of sand inside them, rather than a vast array of electronic components. Cue a big shock for those who had stolen them.
The reports stated that the thieves had hooked up their own cabs to the trailers in order to drive them away. The theft itself came to light after a PlusAI executive received a message from an acquaintance in Newark, California, stating that two of the trucks had gone past their workplace. But the problem was, they shouldn’t have been there!
How the Trailer Theft Was Noticed
The theft came to light on Thursday, September 24th. A PlusAI executive was incredibly confused when an acquaintance in Newark, California, messaged him. “I have been proud of you for your adventure and success at Plus. Just saw two of your trucks near my workplace! :)” the message read. But those trailers weren’t meant to be near that person’s office.
PlusAI stated that the trailers were meant to be docked outside its warehouse around half a mile away. It didn’t take long for the local police to go and investigate, and they were able to recover the two trailers, which were covered in PlusAI and Nvidia logos. Nvidia is currently rated the most valuable company in the world, so it’s no surprise that thieves had targeted one of their trailers.
It soon became clear, however, why the thieves had decided to abandon the two trailers. It turned out that each of them was full of 20,000lbs of sand. Meaning the thieves had just stolen 40,000 lbs of sand that was completely meaningless and worthless. PlusAI actually uses simulated loads in its trailers to help research with development and testing, hence the huge load of sand inside them.
The Incident Is Under Investigation
Thankfully, nobody was hurt or injured during the theft. From the sound of it, nobody noticed that the trailers had been stolen. The two truck cabs from PlusAI had been parked outside the warehouse, with the thieves using their own trucks to steal the trailers. At the time of writing, Amy Gee, a spokesperson for the Fremont Police Department, said that no arrests had been made and Nvidia had not publicly commented on the incident.
Theft targeting high-end and high-value computer equipment is certainly nothing new. In August 2026, WIRED also reported on thieves targeting the vehicles that follow high-value tech loads as escort vehicles. The trucks involved were then driven to another destination, causing the loss of millions of dollars of data center equipment, which has yet to be recovered.
Tesla batteries and bitcoin mining machines have also been targeted throughout 2026.