Tesla said the driver – who was killed in the accident – was in control of the auto which crashed at high speed near the central Dutch town of Baarn on Wednesday.
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Dutch police closed a probe on Friday (Sep 9) into a fatal crash involving a Tesla, accepting the USA electric vehicle firm’s findings that the Model S sedan was not on auto-pilot when it smashed into a tree.
Tesla said the car’s logs showed autopilot was not engaged at any time during the man’s trip, and that he was driving at more than 155 kph.
The Silicon Valley-based company has sent a representative to the scene.
A Dutchman was killed Wednesday when his Tesla Model S smashed into a tree, and it took firefighters several hours to remove his body for fear of electrocution.
“The vehicle was so badly damaged that the firefighters could not operate its security systems”, continued Boer.
Officials were investigating the cause of the accident today – but Tesla said its data showed the Autopilot self-driving technology was not being used at the time.
“We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation”, said Tesla in a statement.
The system allows the vehicle to automatically change lanes, manage speed and brake to avoid a collision.
Tesla Motors Inc.’s “Autopilot” feature wasn’t in use during a deadly crash of one of its vehicles south of Amsterdam, the company said.
But the American electric vehicle pioneer now launching an investigation into Wednesday’s incident said the victim was not driving on auto-pilot during the crash, which happened in the eastern Dutch town of Baarn. The system may be overridden by the driver.
It was the second fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S after former US Navy Seal Joshua Brown was killed in Florida on May 7. It uses the data to make improvements to the autopilot and other functions, which are beamed to customers through over-the-air software updates.
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Dutch media outlets published pictures showing pieces of the auto strewn across the road, including small fires that appear to have been ignited by battery cells that broke free from the underbody battery pack.
