Tesla Model S burned down in a traffic accident, driver’s seat is unattended

An accident occurred on April 17 (local time) in Spring, Texas, USA, in which a 2019 Tesla Model S crashed into a tree, causing a fire and killing two. It is said that the car was caught in a bad fire and fire extinguishing activities took place over 4 hours. Also, when the body was recovered, the driver’s seat was unmanned, the authorities announced.

According to a Harry County police officer, the Model S was driving at a fairly high speed and crashed into a tree on the road without turning a curve. It is not yet known whether the Model S was activating the autopilot function when driving, but when the body was retrieved, there was no one in the driver’s seat, one in the passenger seat and the other in the rear seat.

Although it may not be possible that the body was moved from the position where it was sitting due to the impact of a traffic accident, the police officer revealed that, as a result of skillful identification, it was 100% sure that no one was in the driver’s seat, based on the location of the body. In addition, investigations are still underway on a 59-year-old man and a 69-year-old man who died.

It is also characteristic that the car burned for four hours. It is said that 120,000 liters of water were needed to settle the fire. The fire department was involved in the firefighting activity and sought advice from Tesla, but it was not known how it responded. However, according to information released by Tesla, Tesla electric cars are different from natural gas cars, suggesting that it is better to keep burning rather than trying to extinguish the fire.

As of March 2021, the US Department of Transportation’s Road and Traffic Safety Bureau is investigating more than 23 car accidents related to the autopilot function, but so far, no accident has been reported in which the driver’s seat was unmanned. Autopilot is different from an autonomous driving system, and in the past Tesla Model X accidents, Tesla has appealed that drivers should be careful and put their hands on the steering wheel.

Tesla has yet to comment, and CEO Elon Musk was the last to comment on Twitter on April 18 about the decline in autopilot accident rates. Related information can be found here.