New Details Released in Investigation Into 2016 Tesla Autopilot Crash

  • NTSB releases technical reports on fatal Tesla crash
  • Florida accident prompted scrutiny of driver-assist systems

A member of the media test drives a Tesla Motors Inc., Model S car equipped with Autopilot at the Tesla Motors Inc. headquarters in Palo Alto, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015.

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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The Tesla Model S accident that last year sparked a debate about the car company’s partially autonomous driving tools resulted in a cloud of white dust as the sedan plowed underneath a tractor trailer, a witness told investigators.

"Just a white cloud, like just a big white explosion," said Terrence Mulligan, a witness who saw the impact and rushed to where the electric vehicle came to rest, told investigators with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.