Two people died on Saturday night in the accident of a Tesla vehicle driving without anyone behind the wheel in Harris County (Texas, USA), the authorities reported.
One of the dead was in the passenger seat and another in the back seat, and authorities assured on Sunday that they were “99.9%” certain that “no one was driving the vehicle at the time of the impact”.
Tesla crashed into a tree on a high-speed curve in Harris County, north of Houston, and it took four hours to put out the fire.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the “airbags” were deployed and whether the vehicle has activated power steering, an intelligent assistance system that Tesla markets as “autopilot” or “autopilot”.
Tesla requires drivers to be aware of driving the vehicle in order to take control of the vehicle and invites them to activate the intelligent assistance system, as it is safer than driving without it.
The accident occurs when Tesla starts testing a “fully autonomous” driving system with some of its drivers, although it also requires the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel at all times.
Some experts criticized the company for using terms such as “autopilot” and gave a false sense of autonomy from the vehicle.
The United States Highway Safety Agency (NHTSA) is studying the possibility of imposing regulations to ensure the attention of drivers, as new driving automations are implemented in the automotive industry.
NHTSA is investigating more than twenty Tesla electric vehicle accidents while using the power steering system.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk defended the safety records of his electric vehicles and this week assured that driving assistance allows 10 times less chance of an accident.