A Tesla driver has been charged with manslaughter following a fatal crash in Texas where his Model 3, reportedly using an automated driving feature, slammed into a home and killed 76-year-old Martha Avila. The driver, Michael Butler, told authorities he was using an automated driving system at the time of the incident, which occurred on a Friday evening. Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the crash, including whether driver-assistance technology played a role.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a special investigation into the crash, marking it as one of 46 such probes involving Teslas using self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past decade. This incident adds to ongoing scrutiny of Tesla's autonomous driving features, especially after the company recalled over two million vehicles in 2023 following a two-year NHTSA investigation into numerous crashes tied to Autopilot mode.
Jennifer Barbour, Martha Avila’s daughter, has filed a lawsuit against both Tesla and the driver, seeking at least $1 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges defective design and negligence on Tesla’s part for promoting unsafe technology, claiming the car's system failed to detect the end of the roadway and led to "sudden unintended acceleration." Tesla’s head of artificial intelligence, Ashok Elluswamy, has publicly suggested that the driver manually overrode the system by fully pressing the accelerator, reaching 73 mph, and continued to do so even after the crash.
