NTSB: Tesla owner was in driver’s seat before April Texas crash

In its preliminary report on a widely reported April Tesla crash in Harris County, Texas, NTSB found that the driver had gotten into the driver’s seat upon leaving his home, though local investigators have previously said they were “100 percent sure” no one was in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash.

What happened: “Footage from the owner’s home security camera shows the owner entering the car’s driver’s seat and the passenger entering the front passenger seat,” the NTSB report said. The Tesla Model S had only traveled about 550 feet before driving off the road and over a curb, “hitting a drainage culvert, a raised manhole, and a tree.”

The car’s battery then caught fire, and according to local reports, “the fire raged for four full hours and required rescue workers to use about 30,000 gallons of water to eventually put the fire out because the battery kept reigniting.” The fire also damaged a data recorder, which has been taken to the NTSB laboratory for evaluation.

Both the 59-year-old Tesla owner, William Varner, and the 69-year-old passenger, Everette Talbot, were killed.

Discrepancies: Local officials said they found one body in the passenger seat and one in the backseat, with no one in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash, meaning that the driver would have had to move to the backseat before the car had moved 550 feet.

Tesla‘s vice president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, said last month on an earnings call that the steering wheel was “deformed,” suggesting that a person had been in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash. He also said that neither occupant had their seat belts fastened.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said a few days after the crash that Autopilot — Tesla’s adaptive cruise control and Autosteer capability — was not enabled and that Tesla’s FSD, or “full self-driving” system, had not been purchased for this car. The NTSB report said that the vehicle “was equipped with Autopilot” but that in tests, NTSB found that Autosteer — which needs to be engaged for Autopilot to activate — is “not available on that part of the road.“

What’s next: All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, according to NTSB. The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office is conducting a separate, parallel investigation. Tesla is “supporting” the NTSB investigation, according to the report.