A recent report alleges that a Tesla vehicle burst into flames after colliding with a tow truck in Moscow, Russia. Reports indicate that the driver had the Tesla Model 3’s autopilot engaged.
Reuters reports that a Tesla Model 3 vehicle burst into flames following a crash with a parked tow truck on a Moscow motorway this week. The Tesla driver stated that he failed to see the two truck before colliding directly with it. A video captured of the incident shows the driver, a man named Alexei Tretyakov, stating that he was using the car’s autopilot mode when the crash took place but still had his hands on the steering wheel.
Tretyakov stated that he was driving at approximately 100km per hour (62 mph) when the left side of the vehicle collided with the stationary tow truck that he had not seen. Footage of the incident showed the car at the side of the road with thick black smoke rising from the vehicle, consumed in a fireball. According to reports, two small explosions happened shortly after the crash and the metal frame of the vehicle was the only remaining parts of the car after the fire.
Footage of the incident can be seen below:
Reuters further reported that Tretyakov, the driver who works as a financial market expert, suffered a broken leg while his children were only bruised as a result of the crash. Tesla was not available for comment outside of business hours when Reuters reached out.
Last week Breitbart News reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be preparing a formal investigation of Tesla related to the autopilot system. According to the report:
However, Bloomberg stated that not everyone is so completely convinced that there a subpoena is “business as usual” for the NHTSA “The fact that they’ve had to issue subpoenas about it indicates that NHTSA hasn’t been satisfied by Tesla’s responses, because that’s just not normal,” said Borris, who’s now an auto-safety consultant.
Bloomberg notes that the NTHSA’s interest comes shortly after a number of car crashes involving Tesla vehicles
The agency had previously sent Elon Musk a cease & desist letter over Tesla’s safety claims.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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