Two men tragically died after their Tesla car ‘on autopilot with no one driving’ slammed into a tree and started a huge fire.
The 2019 Tesla Model S reportedly crashed into a tree in Carlton Woods at around 11:25 pm on Saturday before it started a massive fire with the passengers trapped inside.
An investigation had found that ‘no one was driving’ when the horrific accident occurred.
One man was sitting in the back while the other was sitting in the passenger seat at the front, said Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
Authorities told KPRC that the vehicle was moving at a high speed when it ran off the street and slammed into a tree.
The crash started a massive fire and firefighters had to use 32,000 gallons of water to put out the flames as the batteries of the $80,000 vehicle kept reigniting.
Deputies even called Tesla to ask how to extinguish the fire in the battery.
According to the New York Times, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating 23 accidents involving Tesla cars believed to be on Autopilot.
The Autopilot mode uses cameras and sensors to detect obstacles, lane markets, and other vehicles.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Saturday and said that the cars with Autopilot engaged were “now approaching a 10 times lower chance of accident” than the average car.
However, the National Transport Safety Board suggested last month that Tesla was using customers as ‘guinea pigs’ to test its technology before it is officially approved.
The company has more than 1,000 customers testing the beta version and the drivers are required to stay aware and in control of all driving activities.
But NTSB is not happy that thousands of people are traveling with the unapproved system and is now pushing for stricter requirements on autonomous technology.
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