Tesla driver in fatal Texas crash pressed accelerator 100%, NTSB confirms


The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday that the driver of a Tesla who crashed into a house in June had pressed the accelerator pedal to 100%, overriding the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.

Data recovered from the Tesla showed that the vehicle was traveling more than 70 miles per hour when it struck a house in Katy, Texas, killing 76-year-old resident Martha Avila, according to the NTSB. The family of the victim has since sued the alleged driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, and Tesla, claiming negligence. Butler has also been charged with manslaughter.

The safety board shared the information as part of a preliminary report on the progress of its investigation into the crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also probing the incident.

The data confirms Tesla’s account of the crash, which the company shared in the days after it happened in order to show that its advanced driver assistance system wasn’t to blame. “[T]his [allegation] makes no sense. FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X shortly after the crash.

The NTSB said Wednesday that the 44-year-old driver was using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) on Rose Hollow Lane, a residential two-lane road with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour, prior to the crash. Security camera footage obtained by the safety board showed the car accelerating through an intersection, leaving the road, and hitting the house. The “weather was clear, the roadway was dry, and daylight conditions were present,” according to the NTSB.

Tesla requires that drivers using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) pay attention to the road and be ready to take control at any moment. Butler allegedly told authorities that he had “passed out” and that he was using Tesla’s driver assistance system. Police reportedly discovered that his Google searches included the terms “Tesla FSD not aggressive enough 2026,” “Tesla not aggressive enough,” and “Tesla FSD too timid,” according to local ABC news affiliate station KTRK TV.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    xAI sues a man for using Grok to generate CSAM ‘deepfakes’

    The Elon Musk-owned xAI is suing a South Carolina man who allegedly used the company’s Grok AI chatbot to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In a lawsuit reported earlier…

    Sheetz is quitting VMware, migrating 11,000 virtual machines

    Automation and [SvHCI’s VMware] VM Import Utility were absolutely vital to scaling this migration. Operating in a 24/7/365 retail environment meant that minimizing business disruption was critical. It required meticulous…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    No ban against data centre development after Hamilton council votes down bylaw

    No ban against data centre development after Hamilton council votes down bylaw

    Ontario wildfires

    Ontario wildfires

    TV Review: ‘Lucky’ | Moviefone

    TV Review: ‘Lucky’ | Moviefone

    xAI sues a man for using Grok to generate CSAM ‘deepfakes’

    xAI sues a man for using Grok to generate CSAM ‘deepfakes’

    Methanex Corporation – Notice of Cash Dividend

    Afternoon front page: NGOs’ ‘hostile behaviour’ over Jews, Israel