Horror as man dies after his Tesla smashed into a tree

Shocking photos of the crash scene published by local media showed the back of the car mostly intact but its front smashed in and parts strewn about.

The cause of the crash on a highway about 40 kilometres east of Amsterdam was not known. 

It was reported that it took firefighters hours to remove his body from the vehicle due to fears they could be electrocuted.

Tesla said it was "working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident" and would publish its findings as soon as they were available. 

A spokeswoman said it was not known whether the car was using "autopilot" at the time of the crash, and that would form part of the investigation.

The Dutch vehicle regulator RDW is the authority which issues road worthiness certificates for Teslas in Europe.
Fire department spokesman Ronald Boer said guidelines for dealing with electric car crashes were well established in the Netherlands. 

But due to the nature and severity of the wreckage, firefighters could not be certain whether the car might be under high voltage.

Newspaper De Telegraaf reported the car's battery was broken, and part of it caught fire and was difficult to extinguish.