Swiss authorities are looking into a fatal crash involving a Tesla vehicle that rolled and burst into flames.
According to a report, a 48-year old German male was driving a Tesla on a highway in the Canton of Ticino in Switzerland when it impacted a barrier, rolled and caught fire. The cause of the crash is not yet known, with local Ticino authorities saying that “so far, the only thing for sure is that there was an accident with a Tesla.”
A Tesla spokesperson said the company was looking into the crash, noting that it appeared as though the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed.
“We are deeply saddened by this accident and we are working to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation to local authorities,” Tesla said in a statement made to Reuters. “Tesla has not yet received any data from the car and thus does not know the facts of what occurred, although it appeared to be a high-speed collision.”
The accident, which occurred last Thursday, is one in a number of recent crashes involving Teslas that has received widespread media coverage. Last Friday, a Tesla Model S slammed into the back of a firetruck at a red light in South Jordan, Utah. The driver of the vehicle, a 28-year old woman, said the vehicle’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system was engaged and that she was looking at her phone at the time of the crash. The driver suffered a broken ankle in the crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the incident and said it “will take appropriate action based on its review.”
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Two teenagers were killed in Florida occurred last week when the Tesla Model S they were traveling in went off the road, hit a concrete barrier and caught fire. Autopilot was not engaged at the time of the crash, authorities believe, and the area the crash occurred in is allegedly known as “dead man’s curve,” according to a Fox report.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been outspoken about recent media coverage of crashes involving Tesla vehicles, saying in a tweet that it’s “super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the ~40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in past year get almost no coverage.” He later added that he was impressed the driver involved in the crash in Utah only suffered a broken ankle.
It’s not yet clear when investigators may reach a conclusion in regards to the crash in Switzerland. NHTSA has also yet to provide a timeline for its investigation into the crash in Utah.
[Source: Automotive News]
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