A fatal car crash involving a Tesla vehicle occurred near Niort, France, resulting in the death of four people on Saturday, October 12, 2024. The car veered off the road, collided with a road sign, and then caught fire, as reported by local law enforcement. The severity of the fire has made it challenging to identify the victims, as their bodies were severely burned.
Local police spokesperson Lieutenant Eric Hoarau confirmed that the exact details of the incident are still under investigation. “Everything suggests [the vehicle] came off the road,” Hoarau stated, pointing to evidence like tire tracks and a damaged road sign at the scene. The absence of eyewitnesses has further stalled the progress of the investigation.
The Tesla car involved in the crash has brought up questions about its Autopilot system, which has been the subject of several investigations following numerous crashes in the past few years. As per an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, Tesla’s Autopilot technology heavily depends on computer vision rather than lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors, which some experts think could be contributing to these accidents. The report indicates that many Autopilot-related incidents were due to sudden veering or failure to recognize obstacles.
This accident is one in a series of similar Tesla crashes worldwide, with many resulting in fatalities and fires after impact. In April 2021, for example, a Tesla Model S in The Woodlands, Texas crashed into a tree and caught fire, claiming the lives of two people. While initial investigations suggested that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash, Tesla later denied this claim.
Another fatal accident occurred in Mountain View, California in March 2018, where a Tesla Model X driver died after colliding with a barrier. In this case, the vehicle’s Autopilot system was reportedly active at the time, and subsequent investigations criticized its design for over-relying on camera systems without sufficient driver monitoring. These accidents underscore the concerns surrounding Tesla’s Autopilot feature and its potential for critical safety failures during operation.
As the investigation unfolds, law enforcement is striving to identify the victims and determine the cause of the crash.