Federal Investigators Probe Fatal Tesla Crash Into Home

A fatal crash that sent a Tesla into a Texas home is now drawing federal scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday opened a special crash investigation into a blue Tesla Model 3 that veered off a road in Katy, Texas, on Friday, barreled across a yard, and smashed through the front wall of a brick house, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila inside, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Police confirmed alcohol was not a factor in the crash, Ars Technica reports.

The driver told deputies he was using an automated driving-assistance feature at the time. Elon Musk said the feature should have ensured the car was driving slowly while in a neighborhood, CNBC reports, and Tesla's VP of AI and software, Ashok Elluswamy, wrote on X that data show the driver "manually overrode" that safety feature by pressing the accelerator before and even after impact. It isn't yet clear whether Tesla's "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" system was active; the sheriff's office, which will turn its findings over to local prosecutors, called it an "active and open investigation." NHTSA's specialized unit, which looks at more than 100 unusual crashes a year, has launched over 40 probes involving Tesla vehicles and driver-assistance tech, any of which can lead to a safety recall.