Two men have died after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating without anyone in the driver's seat, crashed into a tree on Saturday night north of Houston, authorities said.
Key points:
•After the fire was extinguished, authorities located two occupants in the vehicle, with one in the front passenger seat and the other in the back seat of the Tesla
•The accident comes amid growing scrutiny over Tesla's semi-automated driving system following recent accidents
•The US auto safety agency said in March it had opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles
“There was no-one in the driver’s seat," Sergeant Cinthya Umanzor of the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 said.
The 2019 Tesla Model S was travelling at high speed when it failed to negotiate a curve and went off the roadway, crashing to a tree and bursting into flames, local television station KHOU-TV said.
After the fire was extinguished, authorities located two occupants in the vehicle, with one in the front passenger seat and the other in the back seat, the report said, citing Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The accident comes amid growing scrutiny over Tesla's semi-automated driving system following recent accidents, and as it is preparing to launch its updated "full self-driving" software to more customers.
The US auto safety agency said in March it had opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles. At least three of the crashes occurred recently.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that he expected huge profits from the company's full self-driving software, saying he was "highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year".
The self-driving technology must overcome safety and regulatory hurdles to achieve commercial success.
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