A driver died Monday after their Tesla Cybertruck crashed right into a concrete culvert and promptly burst into flames. Although the hearth’s measurement and fast development have made it troublesome to parse the small print of the incident, federal regulators are already investigating the crash and in search of solutions from Tesla.
The crash occurred round 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 5 in Baytown, Texas, a metropolis east of Houston. The driving force was headed west by means of an industrial space once they veered off the street for a motive unknown to emergency responders. The Cybertruck hit a concrete culvert and caught fireplace, killing the driving force. Native information outlet KHOU 11 reviews the driving force’s burns had been so extreme that they haven’t but been recognized; the flames additionally erased the Cybertruck’s license plate and VIN.
The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) advised KHOU 11 that it is “conscious of the crash and fireplace and is getting further info from Tesla,” an announcement that our colleagues at PCMag later confirmed. The NHTSA hasn’t but printed a launch associated to the incident, and the group would not usually publish preliminary investigative findings. It may very well be some time earlier than now we have concrete details about what triggered the hearth. Opposite to well-liked perception, EVs should not extra possible to catch fireplace than gas-powered autos; inner combustion engine and hybrid fashions expertise fires much more incessantly than EVs, in line with the Nationwide Fireplace Safety Affiliation.
Credit score: Maxim/Unsplash
Whatever the trigger, the fiery crash is not an excellent search for Tesla, whose storied Cybertruck has undergone two remembers because it shipped 9 months in the past. In April, the corporate voluntarily recalled all 3,878 delivered Cybertrucks because of a sticky accelerator pedal. Two months later, it recalled the $82,000 truck for a failure-prone wiper motor and unfastened trim.
The Cybertruck has additionally attracted criticism from security specialists due to its lack of crumple zones, that are integrated into most autos to switch kinetic power away from the cabin and towards a managed space. Tesla CEO Elon Musk shrugged off these issues in November, telling Cybertruck drivers, “When you’ve got an argument with one other automobile, you’ll win.” Sadly, that assumption would not seem to use to arguments between Cybertrucks and cement.
