Federal authorities are investigating after a Cybertruck crashed and burst into flames earlier this week, leaving the driver of the vehicle dead. While there have been a number of crashes involving Tesla’s unconventional vehicle, this is said to be the first one that involves a fatality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that it will be looking into the deadly incident, which took place in the greater Houston area early Monday morning.
Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to an area near the Grand Parkway early Monday morning for reports of a crash, local news reports. From the initial investigation, officials say that the truck appears to have veered off the road sometime around 1:45 a.m. and ran into a culvert, where it burst into flames. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. It has also been reported that the driver could not initially be identified due to the burns and that the VIN of the vehicle had also been obscured due to the fire, which also thwarted identification.
As of Monday, it was still unclear what actually caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle and drive off the road. Gizmodo reached out to local authorities for more information and will update this story if they respond.
The NHTSA is investigating the crash, according to a report from Reuters.
The Cybertruck, which looks a little bit like a Hummer crossed with a trash can, was developed by Tesla and has crept onto America’s roads over the past six months. It was initially announced back in 2019 and has been frequently talked about by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk ever since the company only officially began delivering the cars to customers last November. While it’s still pretty rare to see them, I have personally spotted at least half a dozen of them idling on various streets throughout California.
Wherever they go, the vehicles seem to invite attention. Just yesterday, Donald Trump generated some viral content for his presidential campaign when he was gifted one of the cars by popular streamer Adin Ross.
Still, the vehicles have had their share of issues. Reuters reports that Tesla has had to issue four different recalls for its 2024 Cybertruck model. Just a few weeks ago, the company recalled over 11,000 vehicles due to electrical issues with its unusually large windshield wiper.
