Too much fake and unprofessional "journalism" on this subject. Autopilot can't be made to accelerate like what was done, doesn't activate in my cars without painted lines, doesn't activate in my car if out of the seat, drives super slow to the point I usually help it get up to speed, can't go more than 5 over in this 35 mph zone, won't navigate a sharp turn at high speed, and the list goes on. The Fire Department has stated that the 4 hours and 30000+ gallons is a false statement. The police department should retract their statement and build in a hefty budget for making false statements about Autopilot and the fire that could be perceived as defamation. Even a 1% drop in Tesla stock would bankrupt the entire county/city likely. News outlets should be held accountable for poor reporting other than writing a footnote retraction, but we primarily have tabloids and reality TV news, not actual journalism any more. That's not to say some aren't doing amazing work. The new industry as a whole, however, looks like grocery store checkout trash.
This accident in my opinion was the result of:
1. Bad choices. Trying to accelerate too quickly and losing control the doctor slammed his car into a tree. Alcohol may have been involved in a "hold my beer and watch this moment." After wrecking, the driver couldn't get out of the car from the front door due to damage or the 12v failed. He then climbed into the back. Again due to damage or the 12 v system failing, and he didn't open the speaker panel to release the door manually due to injury, lack of knowledge, and/or time being short. This is likely what happened.
2. Another person was driving and did get out. It happens. They might have been intoxicated and feared manslaughter or homicide charges. They are roaming around with minor injuries as the cars are fairly safe. The other two were injured and just didn't make it out.
3. Idiocy and hacking. The doctor found some ridiculous work around to bypass all Autopilot safety mechanisms to show off the feature as it was never intended. Search history on his computer and phone will likely show where he got this idea if so and would be evidence as to what lengths the driver took to bypass all safety measures. Autopilot was involved but only due to a person intentionally misusing the product to a degree that is reckless endangerment of the life of his passenger. This would take quite the work around (installing a pre-2019 autopilot software before some of the safety measures were put in place or having a third party hack and damage the autopilot to activate it in his car for free, bypassing the weight sensors, tricking the speed limit, uping the acceleration, etc.). If this is found to be true, the passenger's family should sue the driver's estate for this unsafe and deliberate act that resulted in his horrific and firey death.
4. Foul play. Someone killed these men by drugging them, loading them in the car, stepping on both pedals (two pedal alert shows and the car won't move), lodging a block of ice on the accelerator, and then letting off the brake. Car burns. Ice evaporates/sublimates. It may have been family, a disgruntled person, a psychopath, or a short seller. This is less likely than 1-3 but more likely than this being an Autopilot event as reported by the news.
Those of course are just theories. I will await proper investigation to determine the facts. Two people have died. Their family deserves to know the actual cause here. Yes, this is absolutely terrible, but Autopilot did not do this.