Two Men Die in Tesla Crash; Approx. 32,000 Gallons of Water Over 4 Hours Needed to Put Out Fire

By B.N. Frank

Earlier this month, Tesla owners wondered aloud about suing the automaker if “Full Self Driving” would never be possible like the company originally promised.

Other complaints about Teslas include crashes and other potentially fatal mechanical and operational issues (see 1, 2, 3, 4). Last night two men died after the owner’s Tesla crashed into a tree.

From Digital Trends:

Fatal Tesla crash in Texas appeared to have no driver

A crash involving a Tesla Model S in Texas at the weekend killed two men, with neither apparently behind the wheel at the point of impact.

The vehicle hit a tree and burst into flames in Spring, just north of Houston, on the evening of Saturday, April 17. One of the vehicle’s occupants was discovered in the passenger seat, while the other was in a back seat.

At the heart of the investigation is whether the vehicle was in Autopilot or FSD (Full Self-Driving) mode leading up to the crash, and whether one of the two occupants, aged 59 and 69, were possibly thrown — or moved — from the seat around the point of impact.

Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies said the Tesla vehicle was moving at high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac turn, veered off the road, and hit the tree, with Sgt. Cinthya Umanzor saying there was “no one in the driver’s seat.”

Firefighters reportedly had a difficult time extinguishing the blaze, taking around four hours and using some 32,000 gallons of water. With the vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries continuing to burn, the emergency crew even called Tesla for advice on how to tackle the situation.

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This is not the first Tesla fire reported as being difficult to extinguish. Other complaints about these vehicles include rapid battery degradation and high levels of harmful electromagnetic radiation emissions which can affect all passengers including pets.