Tesla accident: Faulty vehicle or bad driving?

South Korean police are investigating a Tesla crash that killed one person and injured two others last week, to see if defects in the vehicle could have played a role.

The Yongsan Police Station said Sunday that the vehicle has been delivered to the National Forensic Service for a forensic investigation, after the Seoul Western District Court issued a search and seizure warrant Friday.

The vehicle, a Tesla Model X produced this year, caught fire after crashing into a wall late Wednesday as it entered an underground parking space in an apartment complex in Yongsan, Seoul.

The car owner, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and the driver were both taken to a hospital after the incident, but the owner died soon after.

An apartment building employee who tried to put out the fire was taken to a hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

According to police, the injured driver testified that he suddenly lost control of the car as it spontaneously drove into the wall.

Cases have been reported in the US where Tesla vehicles have accelerated suddenly with the drivers apparently unable to stop them.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has looked into about 110 such petitions made by Tesla owners in January.

Responding to the complaints, Tesla has denied that any of its vehicles have malfunctioned with regard to acceleration.

Local experts said the battery-operated doors may have been a factor in the outcome of the latest Tesla accident. The doors remained shut even as rescuers tried to force them open from outside, they said.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)