Tesla Motors Inc is investigating the cause of a fatal crash in China involving one of its vehicles, but has "no way of knowing" if its semi-automated Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the accident, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Because of the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers," Tesla said.

China's CCTV on Wednesday reported 23-year-old Gao Yaning died in January after crashing into the back of a road sweeping vehicle while driving a Tesla car on a highway in the northeastern province of Hebei.

Gao's family filed the lawsuit in a Beijing court in July against Tesla and the Beijing-based dealer who had sold Gao the car.

Tesla, in its statement, said it had "tried repeatedly to work with" Gao's family to determine the cause of the crash, but the family "has not provided us with any additional information that would allow us to do so."