Tesla Denies Allegations in Fatal Texas Crash: Is Autopilot to Blame?

A 76-year-old woman died after a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a residential building in Katy, Texas. The incident has once again brought the safety of the company's driver-assistance technologies to the forefront of debate. Initial reports stated that the vehicle was in Autopilot mode at the time of the accident. Techcrunch.com reports .

The incident occurred last Friday evening. The Tesla, driven by Michael Butler, veered off the road and struck the home of a woman named Marta Avila. Despite being airlifted to a hospital, the victim passed away regardless of the medical assistance provided. In his statement to the police, the driver emphasized that the car was in Autopilot mode at the time.

However, Tesla strongly denies these allegations. Company representatives, who typically do not engage with the press, did not remain silent this time. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's Vice President of AI, published data retrieved from the vehicle on X (formerly Twitter).

Human factor and high speed

According to Elluswamy, system data shows that the driver deactivated the automatic steering through his own actions. "In this situation, the driver pressed the accelerator pedal 100 percent in a residential area and took manual control. The speed at the time of impact reached 73 mph (approximately 117 km/h), and the accelerator pedal remained depressed even after the collision," he wrote.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also commented on the situation, noting that Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems operate at low speeds in such areas, and a high-speed collision could only occur with human intervention. In his view, blaming the system is illogical.

Nevertheless, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that it has launched a special investigation into the incident. According to TechCrunch, this is one of more than 40 investigations opened by the NHTSA in recent years regarding accidents involving Tesla.

Local police and federal regulators are currently scrutinizing the vehicle's log files. Criminal liability for the driver will be considered based on the investigation results. Such cases are also important for users in Uzbekistan, as the number of Tesla electric vehicles is increasing in the country, proving once again that drivers should not rely entirely on assistance systems.