Two men are dead after a Tesla crashed into a tree in Texas while nobody was in the driving seat.
TV Station KPRC in Houston says that Police believe “no one was driving” the fully-electric 2019 Tesla when the accident happened. The report says there was a person in the passenger seat of the front of the car and in the rear passenger seat of the car.
Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies told the KPRC the vehicle was travelling at a high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac turn, ran off the road and hit the tree.
The car burst into flames and the fire took four hours to extinguish.
Tesla makes it clear in instruction manuals that drivers should always be in the driving seat and ready to take control, even if they have their car in autopilot mode.
Two men killed after Tesla that may have been in autonomous driving or self driving mode didn’t adhere to a curve, slammed into a tree then burst into flames in the Woodlands, officials say. Firefighters say they had to call Tesla to figure out how to oust the blaze. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/nmhDxKeTHT
— Deven Clarke (@KPRC2Deven) April 18, 2021
(Picture credit – KPRC TV Houston)