The investigation continues.
The preliminary report of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), on the fatal Tesla accident that occurred in Texas last month, has been released. The Board’s findings are in direct contradiction to the initial media coverage. Although this is not a final report there are new details about the events leading up to the accident.
According to the report the owner’s security camera caught him climbing into the Tesla’s driver seat. The passenger was then seated in the front passenger seat. Also, the video captured the car slowing pulling into the road before it accelerated down the road and was out of view of the camera. Investigators found that the car had traveled approximately 550 feet before it left the road. The car crossed a curb and hit a drainage culvert before hitting a raised manhole.
The Tesla Model S P100D that was involved in the accident had Autopilot. However, the NTSB found that Autosteer was not available for the area where the crash took place. The post-crash fire destroyed the onboard data storage device of the car, so attempts to extract data were in vain. Despite being damaged by the accident, the restraint control module of the car has been sent to NTSB’s laboratory to be evaluated. This module can provide information about vehicle speed, airbag deployment status, seat belt status and acceleration.
Although this is not a complete summary of the incident as the investigation continues, it does support Tesla’s claim Autopilot was not to blame for the accident. Tesla cited steering wheel damage to prove someone was in the driver’s seat. The NTSB sent the results back to their laboratory for analysis.