Tesla's autopilot was on and driver's hands were off wheel ahead of fiery crash, report finds

A Tesla's autopilot function was engaged in the minutes before a fiery crash that killed its driver in California earlier this year, according to a federal inquiry. In the roughly 20 minutes before the vehicle slammed into a barrier near Mountain View and burst into flames, the car's autopilot feature was in "continuous operation", the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found in its initial investigation. During the critical 60 seconds leading up to the crash, the NTSB reported, the car's driver repeatedly placed his hands on the steering wheel. Tesla crashes into parked police car in Autopilot mode Wall Street blasts Elon Musk's'truly bizarre' Tesla earnings call Tesla faces labour investigation after allegation of injury undercount But six seconds before the accident, evidence suggests the driver had removed his hands from the steering wheel. The vehicle also accelerated in the final three seconds.