Tesla says Netherlands crash vehicle not operating on 'Autopilot'

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A Tesla electric car involved in a fatal crash in the Netherlands this week was not using the "Autopilot" function at the time of the accident, Tesla said on Thursday.

"Thus far, we can confirm from the car's logs that Autopilot was not engaged at any time during the drive cycle and that, consistent with the damage that was observed after the vehicle struck the tree, the vehicle was being driven at more than 155 kilometers an hour," a Tesla spokesman said in a statement.

The cause of the crash on a highway about 40 kilometres east of Amsterdam is still being investigated, and Tesla is cooperating with authorities, the company said.

In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a May 7 fatality in Florida in which a driver using Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance system crashed into a truck.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter)

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