Two men reportedly died after a Tesla vehicle that was believed to be driverless crashed into a tree in north of Houston, Texas.
According to a report by local station KPRC, a fully-electric 2019 Tesla was traveling at high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac turn and ran off the roadway, hitting a tree and bursting into flames.
After the mishap, one person was found in the front passenger seat while the other was in the back seat of the vehicle, according to Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
Emergency responders reportedly took around four hours and 32,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire because the vehicle’s batteries kept reigniting.
Herman said that at one point, deputies “had to call Tesla to ask them how to put out the fire in the battery.”
Last month, Reuters reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles.
According to Tesla’s website, “Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.”
“While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous,” it added.