The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a special investigation into a recent Tesla crash in Texas. The incident involved a Tesla Model 3 equipped with an automated driving feature and resulted in the death of a 76-year-old woman, Martha Avila, who was inside her home at the time.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the driver reported using the automated technology during the crash, although it remains unclear what role it played. The driver has cooperated with authorities and was not under the influence of alcohol.
Video footage showed the vehicle accelerating across the lawn of a home in Katy, Texas, before crashing through the front room, causing significant damage. Tesla has not yet provided a comment on the situation.
The NHTSA has been actively scrutinizing Tesla’s use of automated driving technology. Over the past ten years, the agency has initiated 46 special crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles with such technology. In more than a dozen cases, crashes were fatal.
Last year, the NHTSA also investigated Tesla for allegedly not reporting accidents timely. Previous probes have looked into 58 instances where Tesla vehicles reportedly violated traffic safety laws, resulting in numerous crashes, injuries, and fires.
This investigation occurs as Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to push for the deployment of robotaxis in various U.S. cities. Musk’s strategy has shifted Tesla’s focus from car sales to artificial intelligence and automated driving technology, with stock prices rising by 16% in the past year following a dip due to political controversies.
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