Two men were killed after a Tesla vehicle authorities believe was operating without anyone in the driver’s seat crashing into a tree Saturday night north of Houston.
One of the men was in the front passenger seat and the other in the back seat of the Tesla, which was traveling at high speed around a curve before colliding with a tree around 11:25 p.m. local time, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Va said Herman in an interview.
“Our preliminary investigation determines, but is not yet complete, that there was no one behind the wheel of this vehicle,” the constable said. “We’re confident of almost 99.9%.”
It needed about four hours of emergency care and about 32,000 gallons of water to put out the fire, Herman said. As of Sunday morning, authorities were still investigating whether the front passenger’s airbag was deployed.
Ni Tesla Inc. nor did the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the top U.S. auto safety regulator, respond immediately to requests for comment.