Authorities in Texas say two people were killed when a Tesla crashed into a tree with no one in the driver’s seat and burst into flames, the KPRC 2 television station in Houston reported.
The cause of the crash, which occurred around 9 p.m. local time in Spring, Texas (near Houston), is being investigated. According to KHOU in Houston, first responders had to use 30,000 gallons of water over four hours to put out the fire, as the Tesla’s battery kept burning. Authorities tried to contact Tesla for advice on extinguishing the fire; it is not clear whether they received response.
Two men die after fatal crash in Tesla Model S.
‘[Investigators] is 100 percent sure that no one in the driver’s seat was driving that vehicle during the attack, ”said Harris Herman Precinct 4-const. Mark Herman said. “They are positive.” # KHOU11 https://t.co/q57qfIXT4f pic.twitter.com/eQMwpSMLt2
– Matt Dougherty (@MattKHOU) 18 April 2021
Preliminary reports indicate that the car was driving fast and could not make a turn, and then drove off the road into a tree. One of the men killed was in the front passenger seat of the car, and the other one in the back seat, according to KHOU. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman told KPRC that “no one was driving the fully electric Tesla of 2019 during the crash. It is not yet clear if the driver assistance system of the car was activated.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. The company has dissolved its press office and, however, usually does not respond to media inquiries.
There have been at least 23 accidents involving the steering of aircraft being investigated by the National Traffic Safety Administration, but this appears to be the first fatal accident where no driver was in the driver’s seat. Tesla had earlier warned its customers that Autopilot is not an autonomous driving system and that it still needs constant attention on the road while in use. However, the company’s cars are only looking for attention with a sensor that measures the torque in the steering wheel, leaving room for abuse – something the national transport safety council warned Tesla for last year.
Tesla has previously led first responders who encounter fires with its EV batteries. Recharging the battery can be a problem because unlike gas powered vehicles, even if the fire is extinguished, an EV battery still has power. Tesla’s guidance suggests that it is better to let the fire burn out than to continue putting it out.
In the past, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has rejected calls from Tesla engineers to add better safety monitoring when a vehicle is in Autopilot, such as eye-tracking cameras or additional sensors on the steering wheel, saying the technology is ‘ineffective’. He said in 2018 that Tesla would regularly release safety data about its Autopilot feature, but added that ‘negative’ press coverage about it could persuade customers not to use it.
“When there is a serious accident, it is almost always the case that it is an experienced user, and the issue is more of complacency,” Musk said during a May 2018 call with investors. “It simply came to our notice then. This is more of a problem. This is not a lack of understanding of what Autopilot can do. It is [drivers] think they know more about Autopilot than they know. ”