Two men died in a Tesla crash in Spring, Texas on Saturday night, and apparently no one was behind the wheel, according to local police who were interviewed by reporter Deven Clarke at NBC subsidiary KPRC 2.
According to reports, the Tesla vehicle hit a tree and went up in flames. One person was found in the front passenger seat and another in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle.
On the basis of a preliminary investigation, the police told KPRC 2 that they think no one was behind the wheel, but that they have not completed their extensive investigation. A preliminary investigation is inconclusive.
Police did not immediately answer CNBC’s questions about whether the driver could have moved or been thrown from his seat during or after the collision.
Firefighters reportedly used 32,000 gallons of water and spent hours suppressing the blaze resulting from the electric vehicle accident.
As CNBC has previously reported, Tesla markets automated driving systems under the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) brands. It is also releasing a “beta” of Full Self Driving (FSD beta) software to some customers who have the premium FSD option, which currently costs $ 10,000.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a Feb. 11 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, “I think Autopilot is going to be good enough that you don’t have to drive most of the time unless you really want to.”
Tesla Autopilot and FSD are unable to operate the electric vehicles under all normal driving conditions.
In a letter to the California DMV late last year, Tesla attorneys said, according to data obtained by CNBC and others, that “neither Autopilot nor FSD Capability is an autonomous system.” And in their owner’s manuals, Tesla warns drivers, “The functions currently enabled require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
Nonetheless, many Tesla fans and influencers share videos on social media showing people driving hands-free for extended periods of time, sleeping behind the wheel, or with no one behind the wheel.
For example, actor Jamie Foxx shared a video on his YouTube channel pretending to be asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3, operating it hands-free with his eyes closed. In January of this year, as The Drive reported, a teenager and his mother shot a video where he pretended to be sleeping behind the wheel of a Tesla and then crawled into the backseat for a nap.
In Germany, a Munich court actually banned Tesla from using phrases similar to Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capabilities in its ads, because they found that this language misled consumers and exaggerated the capabilities of the cars.
CNBC has contacted Tesla and Harris County, Texas Fire and Police for more information.
News of the fatal crash comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is evaluating the public comments it sought ahead of the proposed regulation. The federal agency has not yet regulated automated driving systems, but has left that task to the states.
There have also been several accidents involving Tesla vehicles recently, prompting federal probes to determine whether their Autopilot or FSD systems were involved in the collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last month it had opened 27 investigations into accidents involving Tesla vehicles, 23 of which are still active.
Just hours before the report of the fatal crash in Spring, Texas, Musk praised the company’s self-reported data on first-quarter accidents.
He said on Twitter – where he has more than 50 million followers – “Tesla with Autopilot enabled is now approaching 10 times lower risk of an accident than an average vehicle.”
According to data that Tesla has collected but has not shared with third parties for independent analysis, the company said, “We recorded one accident for every 4.19 million kilometers driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those without Autopilot but with our active safety. We recorded one accident for every 2.05 million kilometers driven. For those driving without Autopilot and without our active safety features, we recorded one accident for every 978 thousand kilometers driven. “
Tesla has not disclosed how many accidents involving their cars have resulted in injuries, fatalities or damage only to vehicles or property.