The primary U.S. automotive regulator initiated an inquiry on Monday following a Tesla crash into a residence in Texas, resulting in the death of a 76-year-old woman inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a special investigation into the Tesla Model 3 accident near Houston that occurred on Friday. The vehicle was utilizing technology crucial to Tesla’s future as per Elon Musk, the company’s CEO.
Elon Musk is introducing robotaxis with automated software in several U.S. cities this year and intends to allow Tesla owners to incorporate their vehicles into the fleet using the same technology nationwide. The driver mentioned to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office that he was utilizing the technology during the incident, although it is unclear whether the technology played a role.
Tesla did not provide a comment, but the head of the company’s artificial intelligence division implied on social media that the self-driving feature was not at fault. According to Ashok Elluswamy on X, the platform now part of SpaceX, the driver manually overrode the self-driving system by fully pressing the accelerator in a residential setting.
The police report confirmed that the driver was sober and cooperative and identified the victim as Martha Avila. Video footage from KHOU-TV depicted the car speeding across the front lawn of a house in Katy, Texas, before crashing into a room inside. Tesla has been the subject of multiple investigations by the auto safety regulator, NHTSA, involving incidents where Tesla vehicles allegedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology.
The NHTSA has opened 46 special crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles utilizing self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past decade, with some resulting in fatalities. Tesla experienced a significant drop in stock value last year, with sales decreasing due to a boycott of Musk following his political involvement. However, Musk has successfully shifted the Tesla narrative towards AI and robotaxis, leading to a 16% increase in the company’s stock over the past year.