On Monday, August 5, 2024, a driver was killed in a fiery crash involving a Tesla Cybertruck. The accident took place in Chambers County, TX and it was reported that the Cybertruck left the roadway and struck a concrete calvert before catching fire.
Texas State troopers are investigating the cause of the accident. The fire was so strong it destroyed the license plate, VIN and the body was badly burned, making identification difficult.
Video footage of the scene shows a burned out shell is all that remains of the Cybertruck.
Questions surrounding the accident include whether autopilot was activated and whether high-levels of speed were involved. It is very unlikely autopilot would play a part since these features have not been fully rolled out yet. But some question if the driver had access to a model that may have the feature that Elon Musk stated would be released soon.
There is also some interest due to a prior recall of the Cybertruck for an issue with accelerator pedals that could cause unintended acceleration.
Because of these questions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has taken notice of this accident.
According to Reuters, NHTSA has opened an investigation into the accident to determine what happened. This is more bad news for the Cybertruck which has seen its fair share of recalls and customer reports of poor workmanship.
Tesla was already on the radar at NHTSA due to the hundreds of accidents related to their autopilot feature. Several of these incidents resulted in deaths.
Looks like Tesla will be keeping NHTSA busy for a while.
