Federal auto safety officials announced Monday they are launching a special investigation after a Tesla operating on an automated driving feature crashed at high speed into a Texas home, killing a 76-year-old woman who was inside at the time.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, known as NHTSA, said it is investigating the Tesla Model 3 crash, which occurred Friday near Houston. The probe carries significant weight because the vehicle was using technology that Tesla CEO Elon Musk views as central to the company’s future.
Musk has been rolling out robotaxi services powered by automated software in multiple U.S. cities this year, with plans to allow Tesla owners nationwide to add their vehicles to the fleet using the same technology.
According to a police report, the driver told the Harris County Sheriff’s Office that the automated driving feature was active at the time of the crash. However, investigators have not yet determined what role, if any, the technology played in the incident. The report also noted the driver was not under the influence of alcohol and is cooperating with authorities. The victim was identified as Martha Avila.
Video footage obtained by KHOU-TV shows the vehicle racing across the front yard of a brick home in Katy before crashing through the front of the house. A follow-up shot captures the car buried inside the structure, surrounded by collapsed plaster, broken beams, and scattered furniture.
Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the crash.
NHTSA has a history of scrutinizing Tesla’s automated systems. Late last year, the agency launched an investigation into 58 reported instances where Teslas allegedly broke traffic laws while using self-driving technology, resulting in more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. Months before that, the agency also opened a separate investigation into whether Tesla had been failing to report crashes in a timely manner as required by law.
In total, NHTSA has opened 46 special crash investigations involving Teslas equipped with self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past ten years. In more than a dozen of those cases, at least one person — whether a driver, passenger, or pedestrian — lost their life.
Tesla’s stock took a steep dive early last year as vehicle sales dropped amid a consumer boycott of Musk following his involvement in politics, including his role leading President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative and his public support of European extremist political candidates. Since then, Musk has steered the company’s narrative away from car sales and toward artificial intelligence and robotaxis — a shift that appears to have resonated with investors. Tesla’s stock has climbed 16% over the past year.
