Autos

Regulators review whether Tesla car used autopilot in PA crash

Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, exits the Model X sport utility vehicle during an event in Fremont, California, Sept. 29, 2015.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Regulators are looking in to a Pennsylvania crash of a Tesla Motors vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is collecting information on whether a Tesla Model X was using automated functions at the time of a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last week, officials told CNBC on Wednesday.

The news came after a separate investigation was announced in connection with a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S in "Autopilot" mode.

Tesla said it received an automated alert from the vehicle on the day of the crash indicating airbag deployment, but that the severity of the crash may have cause the antenna to fail, as logs containing detailed information on the state of the vehicle controls were never received. Tesla said it had been unable to reach the customer.

Pennsylvania State Police told the Detroit Free Press that the driver in Pennsylvania had activated the Autopilot feature, when the car hit a guard rail around 5 p.m. and hit a concrete median and rolled into its roof.

Tesla said: "Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident."

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

—Reporting by CNBC's Phil LeBeau and Meghan Reeder.