Trouble for Tesla Motors & Elon Musk; Man Dies in Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S Involved in Accidental Death

Trouble has mounted for Elon Musk and Tesla Motors as a driver crashed his Tesla Model S in the Netherlands when his car crashed into a tree.  It was unclear whether or not the vehicle’s controversial autonomous auto-pilot feature was being used during the accident.

The rescue team had to watch and were unable to retrieve the victim due to an electrical hazard while the car was engulfed in flames.  The rescuers were nervous about getting electrocuted by the vehicle.

The driver, who was 53 years old, reportedly died before the rescue team arrived.

Unsure how to handle a Tesla fire, firefighters called Tesla Motors’ technicians for help determining whether the car posed an electrical hazard, reportedly forcing them to leave the driver’s body in the burning wreck.

“There is high voltage in a car like that. If there is something wrong and it stands on all four wheels, we can work safely,” said a rescue team spokesman. “It is sad that the victim was still sitting in it. But the fire department wouldn’t take that risk.”

Dutch media is reporting that Tesla technicians arrived on the scene to assist.

Some of the electric vehicle’s battery was thrown from the car during the impact and had caught fire down the road.

“We tried first with a powder extinguisher. But there was a short circuit. In the end we covered [it] with earth from the roadside,” a spokesman told the NOS.

“Tesla is starting an investigation into the accident. As soon as we have the results Tesla will share this with the public,” a company spokesman told the NOS. Data from the car’s onboard computer will be analyzed as part of the investigation.

Police have launched an investigation to determine the exact reason for the crash.

Sadly this is not the first Tesla death in the news. A Florida driver was recently killed as his Tesla Model S could not tell the difference between the side of a white truck and glare from the Sun.  Hopefully this will be the end of Tesla deaths, as fully and partially autonomous vehicles & driverless cars will be sharing the roads with us for all of the foreseeable future.