Federal Investigators Examine Fatal Texas Tesla Crash With Empty Driver Seat
U.S. safety regulators launch an investigation into a deadly Tesla crash in Texas where authorities found no one in the driver's seat. Tesla CEO Elon Musk publicly denies that the vehicle's Autopilot system was active during the incident.
Two federal safety agencies, the NHTSA and NTSB, actively investigate a fatal Tesla Model S crash in Texas that kills two men. Local authorities discover one person in the front passenger seat and another in the rear, but they find no one behind the steering wheel. This unusual scene prompts immediate speculation that the vehicle's automated driving systems were controlling the car at the time of the accident.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk quickly responds to the rumors by stating on Twitter that data logs show Autopilot was not enabled during the crash. He also notes that the specific vehicle involved did not even purchase the Full Self-Driving package. Musk adds that standard Autopilot requires visible lane lines to activate, which the local street where the crash occurred lacks.
Despite Musk's public claims, local police state they have not yet received any data directly from Tesla and are serving search warrants to secure the vehicle's logs. Witnesses tell investigators that the two men left a nearby house without a driver to show off the car's self-driving capabilities. Authorities report the vehicle travels at a high speed, fails to negotiate a turn, strikes a tree, and bursts into flames that take over four hours to extinguish.