The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation concluded that Autopilot was not used in a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S that occurred in 2021 in Texas, and that the driver himself was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Here’s the probable cause, according to the NTSB’s final finding:

“The probable cause of the electric vehicle crash in Spring, Texas was the driver’s speeding and inability to control the vehicle as a result of alcohol intoxication, combined with the effects of two sedating antihistamines, which led to a roadway, collision with a tree and fire” .

The accident, which occurred on April 17, 2021, made headlines after investigators at the scene determined that the driver’s seat was empty. One of the dead was in the front passenger seat, and the other was in the back. Such a “composition” raised suspicions about the use of Tesla’s autopilot and its malfunction.

Later that month, Tesla’s vice president of automotive design, Lars Morawi, said that after examining the crash, company officials determined that the steering wheel was “deformed.” The condition of the steering wheel indicated that there was still a passenger in the driver’s seat when the Model S struck the tree, contradicting the claims of local authorities.

NTSB investigators have now verified the company’s claims. This was also aided by surveillance footage showing two men entering a 2019 Tesla Model S P100D and getting into the front seats of the vehicle before leaving.

In addition, data obtained by Tesla showed that the seat belts were on at the time of the accident and that the driver had moved to the back seat after the accident.

More information was provided by the Model S event data recorder used in the NTSB report. Five seconds before hitting the tree, the car accelerated from 60 km/h to 108 km/h in two seconds and traveled at a speed of 92 km/h until it came to a complete stop.

It was also established that the airbags had deployed. As for the fire, it was caused by damage to the front part of the battery module.

The NTSB concluded that the driver’s condition was impaired by alcohol and medication, causing him to lose control and the car to crash into a tree at high speed and burst into flames.

Autopilot, according to the NTSB, was not used because the technology is programmed not to drive on unmarked roads, which (along with a 48 km/h speed limit) was the street the Model S was last driven on.

Source: The Verge