Tesla faces federal probes, lawsuit after fatal Texas crash

Federal investigators have opened a second inquiry into a fatal Tesla crash in suburban Houston, where a Model 3 reportedly using driver-assistance technology drove into a home and killed 76-year-old Martha Avila.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it had launched an investigation into the June 19 crash in Katy, Texas, “in coordination with the Harris county sheriff’s department.” The announcement came two days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was investigating the wreck.

Avila’s family has also sued Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler, in Texas state court, alleging wrongful death, gross negligence and failure to warn about what the complaint describes as defects in Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Harris County, seeks more than $1 million in damages, along with punitive damages for what it calls Tesla’s “reckless disregard for a substantial risk of severe bodily injury.”

Jennifer Barbour, Avila’s daughter, and her husband, Justin Barbour, say Butler told law enforcement that he had engaged Autopilot before the Model 3 plowed through the front wall of Avila’s home. Avila was pinned by the vehicle and later died at a nearby hospital, according to the complaint. Justin Barbour said he was also injured.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the crash, said the driver described using a driver-assistance system at the time of the wreck. Al Jazeera reported that Butler was not under the influence of alcohol and is cooperating with authorities. Video obtained by KHOU, Houston’s CBS affiliate, showed the car traveling at high speed over the front lawn before striking the home’s front room, according to Al Jazeera.

Butler is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.

Tesla and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment reported by The Guardian. Musk, who owns X, posted Monday night in defense of Tesla’s technology: “FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!”

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president of artificial intelligence software, wrote separately on X that “the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area.”

The NTSB did not specify what aspects of the crash its investigation will examine. The NHTSA’s inquiry adds to years of federal scrutiny of Tesla crashes involving advanced driver-assistance systems.

Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened nearly 50 special investigations into Tesla crashes believed to involve such systems. About two dozen deaths have been reported in those cases. In March, the agency escalated its investigation into 3.2 million Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving, citing concern that the system may fail to detect or warn drivers in poor visibility.

In 2023, Tesla recalled about 2 million vehicles, nearly all of its electric vehicles on U.S. roads, to improve safeguards meant to ensure drivers pay attention while using Autopilot.

Tesla has said Autopilot allows vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes. The company has also said both technologies require “fully attentive” drivers with their hands on the wheel.

Al Jazeera reported that the crash comes as Tesla is rolling out robotaxis using automated software in several U.S. cities this year and plans to invite Tesla owners nationwide to put their cars into the fleet using the same system.