A Tesla Model 3 burned to a crisp on a busy street in Moscow, Russia, after what is described in the local media as an “Autopilot malfunction.”
Businessman Alexey Tretiyakov was driving the Model 3 and had his 2 children in the back. He tells the local media, as cited by Express, that the car was on Autopilot. However, he insists that he had his hands on the wheel, as the carmaker recommends to all drivers.
The Tesla hit a tow truck that had broken down and had stopped on the side of the road. Tretiyakov says the sensors didn’t pick up the obstacle and, somehow, even though he was paying attention to the road, he didn’t notice it and couldn’t avoid the impact.
“I was going along Moscow Ring road in the left lane with a speed of 100kph (62mph) and did not notice a parked GAZelle tow truck,” the businessman told reporters. “My Tesla Model 3 hit the tow truck with its left side and caught fire.”
“It was not on full-scale automatic control - in Model 3 there is the function ‘driver's assistant’ only, so I was holding the wheel,” he adds.
Sources with the police have also confirmed that the Tesla was on Autopilot, but didn’t comment on the driver’s claim that he was paying attention to the road. An investigation is underway and more details will be made public once it concludes.
“The Tesla was probably driving on Autopilot and couldn’t recognize the tow truck in front of it, after which it caught fire,” the police source says.
All 3 passengers were able to exit the vehicle before it was engulfed by flames, which is fortunate because it burned down to the ground. The two videos available at the bottom of the page show how badly the fire affected the Tesla: in the first one, at least 2 consecutive explosions intensify the flames, while in the second (at about the 2-minute mark), you can see that there was almost nothing left of the car when the fire was put out.
The children are hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries, while the driver suffered a broken leg and contusions. Despite heavy traffic at the time of the crash and the subsequent fire, no one else was hurt.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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