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March 27 (UPI) -- The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday it's investigating whether auto-pilot was activated in Friday's fatal Tesla crash in California. Two NTSB investigators were expected to conduct a field investigation to determine if the Tesla Model X auto-pilot was activated at the time of the crash near Mountain View, Calif., the NTSB said on Twitter.
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"Issues examined include: post-crash fire, steps to make vehicle safe for removal from scene," the tweet read.
The Tesla model X collided with a barrier on Highway 101 and caught fire before being hit by a Mazda and an Audi, The Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., reported. Medical officials declared the Tesla driver dead at the hospital after sustaining major injuries. The drivers of the other cars in the crash were not injured.
"We have been deeply saddened by this accident, and we have offered our full cooperation to the authorities as we work to establish the facts of the incident," a Tesla spokesman said in a statement.
Tesla has billed the Model X , with a price tag of $79,500, as "the safest car ever," but with the NTSB launching its investigation, Tesla stocks plummeted 8.2 percent.
