According to Texas law enforcement officials, two men were killed after a Tesla model S crashed into a tree and ignited. Although the investigation is still ongoing, reports claim that no one was behind the wheel at the time of impact.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk immediately disputed the claims that the company’s autopilot software was to blame for the crash, tweeting “ Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD. Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have.”Musk also commented on Twitter (News - Alert), after others pointed out, that the car’s safety measures make it impossible to engage in autopilot without touching the wheel every 10 seconds.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has officially announced a special investigation to analyze the crash, and have demanded Tesla officials release crash data to help determine the cause. CNET’s Roadshow received a brief statement from the agency: "We are actively engaged with local law enforcement and Tesla to learn more about the details of the crash and will take appropriate steps when we have more information."
Information about the victims has not been publicly released at this time.