Dead Tesla driver crashes into fire truck on California highway recalls 363,000 vehicles

The driver of a Tesla has died after the car they were driving crashed into the side of a fire truck blocking a California freeway.

The fire truck had been parked across I-680 in Walnut Creek, east of San Francisco, to deal with a separate accident when the Tesla Model S crashed into the side, killing the driver.

A passenger on board was taken to hospital after the accident, although his condition is unknown.

The vehicle involved in the accident is the same model that is currently facing a mass recall.

Photos taken at the scene of the accident show that the Tesla sustained significant damage and was completely crushed, while the fire truck was severely damaged.

The Tesla Model-S vehicle was completely destroyed in the accident. It is unclear if the car was in autopilot self-driving mode at the time of the accident.

The car slammed into the fire truck that had been parked on a Northern California freeway to protect a crew cleaning up another crash on the interstate.

Several firefighters who were on the scene at the time were also slightly injured.

It’s unclear if the Tesla driver was under the influence or using the vehicle’s self-driving feature.

If it turns out that the driver was using autopilot, something that has already faced significant criticism, Tesla could face additional problems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating Tesla’s automated driving system and how it responds to emergency vehicles on the road.

The recall follows reports of 14 similar accidents involving Teslas in recent months, many of which were attributed, in part, to the autonomous driving feature.

Contra Costa fire officials said the Tesla driver was killed and a passenger seriously injured.

A damaged Contra Costa County fire truck prepares to be towed away after it was struck by a Tesla

The issue is expected to be fixed with the online software update in the coming weeks.

Last week, Tesla announced that it would recall 363,000 of its vehicles, including the Model S, due to potential issues with its autonomous driving capabilities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that the Full Self-Driving Beta software allows the vehicle to “exceed speed limits.”

It is also claimed that cars ‘travel through intersections illegally or unpredictably, increasing the risk of a crash.’

Tesla will release a software update over the air (OTA), free of charge, and said it is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to the recall.

CEO Elon Musk responded to the claims, responding to a Twitter post that said, “The word ‘retire’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just plain wrong.”

In all, 362,758 of the expensive vehicles are being recalled, and CEO Elon Musk has yet to comment on the announcement.

In all, 362,758 of the expensive vehicles are being recalled, affecting Tesla models dating back to 2016.

NHTSA documents say Tesla is making the recall, but disagrees with an agency analysis of the problem.

The issue is expected to be fixed with the online software update in the coming weeks.

Tesla has pulled the full self-driving beta in the past, but not since it made the software available to drivers who purchase the option, which costs $15,000 per vehicle.

The company was forced to withdraw a version of Full Self-Driving in October 2021 after owners reported their cars braking suddenly at highway speeds after an overnight update.

In 2022 they recalled more than 50,000 vehicles due to concerns that vehicles in full self-driving had been equipped with a “rolling stop” feature that allowed them to proceed through intersections without stopping at stop signs.

It comes days after Musk was accused of “dishonesty” by Silicon Valley legend Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976.

He said he was not deeply impressed by the South African-born billionaire’s inability to deliver on the promises he made with Tesla.

CEO Elon Musk responded to the claims, responding to a Twitter post that said, “The word ‘retire’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just plain wrong.”

It comes days after Musk was accused of “dishonesty” by Silicon Valley legend Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976.

Ashok Elluswamy, director of Tesla’s Autopilot software, said in the July transcript that Musk ordered the 2016 video to promote autonomous driving, though he wasn’t ready.

A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony from a senior engineer.

The testimony was part of a July statement taken as evidence in a lawsuit against Tesla over a fatal accident in 2018 involving a former Apple engineer.

Speaking with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Wozniak said of self-driving software: “It makes mistakes all the time. It is a horrible and terrifying experience.

‘My life has been based on total honesty. Everything you say is totally honest. You don’t hide things, you don’t describe things, you don’t make things up to make yourself look better.

“A lot of honesty disappears when you look at Elon Musk and Tesla.”

Wozniak asked him if he thought Musk and Jobs were similar. He said that they were both leaders of ‘a cult’, which he considered dangerous.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that the Full Self-Driving Beta software allows the vehicle to “exceed speed limits.”

In 2019, Musk claimed that Teslas would become “robotaxis” so advanced that their owners “could go to sleep” in the vehicle while driving.

Ashok Elluswamy, director of Tesla’s Autopilot software, said in the July transcript that Musk ordered the 2016 video to promote autonomous driving, though he wasn’t ready.

The video has a tagline that reads: “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons.” He is not doing anything. The car drives itself.

Elluswamy said Tesla’s Autopilot team set out to design and record a “demonstration of the system’s capabilities” at Musk’s request.