2 Killed in fiery crash when Tesla lands without a driver in a tree in Texas

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Two men driving a Tesla were killed this weekend when the car hit a tree in Texas and caught fire.

The wives of the two unidentified friends, ages 59 and 69, overheard them talking about the 2019 Model S Tesla’s autopilot function as they set out in the car together Saturday night, a local agent said.

One man was in the front, the other was behind him in the back seat, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman told Houston KPRC-TV Channel 2. Police found no evidence that anyone was in the driver’s seat when the car went off. the road and crashed into a tree; however, the investigation is ongoing.

No one was driving the all-electric Tesla when the accident happened, Herman said.

Herman said investigators believe the car was moving at high speed when it missed a corner and hit the tree in a residential area.

The fire took four hours and about 32,000 gallons of water to extinguish as the Tesla’s batteries continued to revive, KPRC reported. Firefighters had to call the automaker for advice on how to put out the fire completely.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched 27 investigations – 23 of which are ongoing – into accidents that may have involved Tesla’s autopilot. The latest in Texas may well be the first time no one was in the driver’s seat during a crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has largely allayed concerns about the autopilot function and has pushed for the cars to be safer by helping drivers.

While Tesla warns drivers not to take their hands off the wheel when the car is on autopilot, drivers at the wheel have been known to fall asleep, read or text, or simply stop paying attention to the road. how to use the function.

“Autopilot is intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has his hands on the wheel and is willing to take over at any time.” The “currently enabled functions do not make the car autonomous,” according to the Tesla website. Still, a video on the site shows a car driving with the driver’s hands in his lap. A message at the beginning of the video notes that the “person in the driver’s seat is there for legal reasons only. He’s not doing anything. The car drives itself. “

Tesla was not immediately available for comment. The company closed its PR department last year.

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