Tesla car crashes and catches fire in France, killing 4

Four fatalities in a Tesla crash in France as vehicle hit a road sign and ignited, prompting an ongoing police investigation.

Four people have died in a car crash in France after their Tesla vehicle reportedly hit a road sign and caught fire, police said Monday.

A Tesla crash near Niort, France, resulted in four deaths; police are investigating the circumstances after the vehicle struck a road sign.

A local police spokesman, Lt. Eric Hoarau, said the exact circumstances of the crash Saturday night near the city of Niort were still to be determined and an investigation was underway.

"Everything suggests (the vehicle) came off the road,” Hoarau said, citing marks on the ground and a severed road sign.

There were no witnesses, he said, making the investigation complicated.

The driver and three passengers were burnt beyond recognition, he said.

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment.