Tesla faces federal probe after Model 3 crash that killed 76-year-old

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday that it has opened a special crash investigation into a Tesla incident where a Model 3 slammed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila.

Harris County authorities said that the driver, Michael Butler, was cooperating with their investigation on the scene and said that he had been using Tesla’s partially automated driving systems when his vehicle barreled out of its lane and into the home in the Houston suburb.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on the defensive, saying in a post on his social network X Monday that the crash “makes no sense.”

“FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!” he wrote, referring to his company’s partially automated driving systems.

Tesla Vice President of Autopilot Ashok Elluswamy also chimed in on the incident with a response to Musk on X.

“In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area,” he wrote. “They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”

The driver’s claim, and the Tesla executives’ claims, are still under investigation and have not been independently verified.

The Washington Post previously reported that Tesla has a history of losing, withholding or making it difficult for attorneys and other interested parties to obtain the comprehensive, electronic data that is generated and stored in its cars when they were involved in severe collisions.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

The federal vehicle safety regulator has opened more than three ​dozen ​Tesla ⁠special crash investigations involving the company’s “advanced driver ​assistance systems,” or partially automated driving systems, since 2016, when these became a standard part of the EV maker’s new vehicles.

The standard option was previously marketed under the name “Autopilot” in the U.S. before February, when Elon Musk‘s automaker changed that name under legal pressure from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

A California court and the state’s DMV found that Tesla had engaged in false advertising around its Autopilot systems, potentially confusing consumers about its limitations.

A May incident in Clairemont, California, also saw a Tesla crash through a house. Six people were injured when a Tesla struck another vehicle and slammed into the home, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

Witnesses told CBS News 8 that the driver said they were using Autopilot at the time of the crash. Authorities are investigating.

TeslaDeaths.com, an independent site that tracks Tesla-involved collisions using news reports, police records and federal data, has found at least 65 fatalities resulting from crashes where Tesla Autopilot or FSD (Supervised) had been mentioned as a factor from 2013 to 2025.

The latest NHTSA probe comes as Musk is trying to keep investors’ faith that his automaker can become a global leader in autonomous vehicles.

For years, the company has been working on automated driving systems and promised that its technology will be sophisticated and safe enough for the company to operate large fleets of robotaxis on public roads in the U.S. soon.

Tesla shares closed up by a point on Monday at $405.05 despite news of the federal probe.