The Texas men killed in a fire collision with a Tesla Model S he was driving automatically were friends who turned the car around after leaving their wives, officials said.
Dr. Will Varner, 59, and Everett Talbot, 69, both died when the driverless car crashed into a tree and exploded in flames Saturday night in The Woodlands, a Houston neighborhood, according to reported the station KTRK.
Neither was believed to be driving at the time of the accident.
Varner, an anesthesiologist who was believed to be the owner of the car, was found in the back seat, while Talbot, who ran a financial company, was in the passenger seat, the Daily Mail reported.
“It simply came to our notice then. As her daughter, I asked everyone to wait for the investigation to be completed, ”Talbot’s daughter said at the exit.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have said they will send equipment to investigate the fatal crash.
Harris County District 4 agent Mark Herman said officials are “very confident in the positioning of the bodies after the impact that no one was driving this vehicle,” the station reported. KHOU news.
But Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday denied on Twitter that the car was on autopilot.
“The data records recovered so far show that the autopilot was not enabled and this car did not buy FSD,” He said, referring to premium Full Service driving software, which costs $ 10,000.
“In addition, the standard autopilot would require lane lines to be lit, which this street did not have,” he added.
The fatal crash occurred on Saturday just moments after the men had left their wives in a house in the spring and had been left in the vehicle during a driving test, KTRK reported.
Varner was recalled by his employer, Hermann Memorial, in a statement.
“Dr. Varner was a tremendous human being who personally impacted many of our Hermann Memorial family The Woodlands Medical Center over the years, ”said the statement obtained by KTRK.
“Our thoughts and prayers are addressed to his whole family and also to those who had the privilege of working and serving by his side in various functions. They will miss them so much ”.
