Tesla’s billionaire chief executive Elon Musk tweeted a denial that the car involved in a fatal crash in Texas last week had its Autopilot mode enabled.
Mr Musk, who co-founded Tesla in 2003, also said the owner of the car had not purchased the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package that offers users enhanced Autopilot capabilities.
“Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD,” Mr Musk said.
“Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have.”
On Saturday, a Tesla 2019 Model S crashed into a tree in Houston and burst into flames, killing two passengers.
Officials said the car appeared to have been driving itself at the time of the crash, according to media reports.
US road safety agency the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates civilian transportation crashes, are also probing the case.
The NHTSA said it is working with local law enforcement officers and will “take appropriate steps” after gathering more information.
"NTSB investigation will focus on the vehicle’s operation and the post-crash fire," NTSB said.
Following the accident, shares in Tesla dropped 3.4 per cent on Monday to $714.30 a share, shaving more than $5.5 billion off Mr Musk’s wealth. Mr Musk owns about 22.4 per cent of the company’s shares.
On Sunday, hours after the crash, he said on Twitter that a Tesla with the Autopilot system engaged is almost 10 times less likely to be involved in an accident than an average vehicle.
Tesla sells its automated driving systems under two brand names – Autopilot and FSD. All new Tesla cars come with the Autopilot driver-assist feature as standard and the company sells the more advanced FSD as an extra for almost $10,000.
Autopilot allows the car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically for other vehicles and pedestrians within its lane. FSD offers more enhanced features such as auto-parking and automatic lane changes while driving on the highway.
However, the company said the “currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous”.
In the first quarter of this year, Tesla registered one accident for every 6.74 million kilometres driven with Autopilot engaged.
The company recorded one accident for every 3.29 million km when Autopilot was not engaged but other active safety measures were switched on.
Last month, the NHTSA said it had opened 27 investigations into crashes involving Tesla vehicles.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
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How Beautiful this world is!
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Company%C2%A0profile
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam