US regulators have sent a team to investigate the fatal crash of a Tesla in a suburb of Houston, where, according to local authorities, no one was behind the wheel.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said today that it has sent a special team to Spring, Texas to investigate the electric car accident on Saturday night.
Investigators are “100% sure” that no one was driving the 2019 Model S that fled a residential road, hit a tree and burst into flames, killing two men inside, Harris County Officer Mark Herman said.
Tesla hired autopilot is now 10 times less likely to crash than the average vehicle https://t.co/6lGy52wVhC
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2021
But authorities are still trying to determine whether the car was operating on autopilot, which assists the driver, or with the “Full Self-Driving Capability” system of total autonomy.
One of the men was found in the passenger seat and the other was in the back seat, Herman told The Associated Press.
NHTSA said today it is working with local authorities to find out more about the details of the accident.
Tesla had serious problems with its semi-automatic autopilot system, which was involved in several fatal accidents in which it did not detect trailers, did not stop emergency vehicles or a roadblock. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that NHTSA and Tesla limit the roads on which autopilot can operate safely and that the company also install a more robust system to monitor drivers and ensure that they are careful. But neither Tesla nor the regulatory agency took action.
Tesla did not comment on today’s NTSHA announcement. The company has said in the past that drivers using autopilot must be prepared to intervene at all times and that the “Full Self-Driving Capability” system must also be continuously monitored by drivers.