Two people were killed Saturday night in the crash of a Tesla vehicle driving without anyone behind the wheel in Harris County (Texas, USA), authorities said.
One of the dead was in the passenger seat and another in the back seat and authorities said on Sunday that they have ‘99.9%’ certainty that ‘no one was driving the vehicle at the time of the impact’.
The Tesla crashed into a tree in a high-speed bend in Harris County, north of Houston, and firefighters needed four hours to put out the blaze.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the ‘airbags’ were deployed and whether the vehicle had assisted driving activated, an intelligent assistance system that Tesla markets as ‘autopilot’ or ‘Autopilot’.
Tesla asks its drivers to be on the lookout for driving at all times to take control of the vehicle and invite them to activate the intelligent assistance system, as it is safer than driving without it.
The accident occurs when Tesla is starting to test with some of its drivers a system of ‘total autonomous driving’, although it also requires the driver to have his hands on the wheel at all times.
Some experts have criticized the company for using terms such as ‘autopilot’ and giving a false sense of autonomy on the part of the vehicle.
The United States Highway Safety Agency (NHTSA) is studying the possibility of imposing rules to ensure the attention of drivers behind the wheel, while new automations of driving are implant in the motor industry.
The NHTSA is investigating more than twenty Tesla electric vehicle accidents while using an assisted driving system.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has defended the safety history of his electric vehicles and this week assured that driving assistance allows for a ‘10 times lower ’chance of an accident.