NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Fatal Tesla Crash In Texas

(RTTNews) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has kicked off a special investigation following a tragic accident involving a Tesla Model 3 in Katy, Texas. This crash resulted in the death of 76-year-old Martha Avila after the vehicle collided with a home.

According to local authorities in Harris County, the driver, Michael Butler, stated that he was using Tesla's partially automated driving system when the car veered out of its lane and crashed into the house. He's currently cooperating with the investigation.

This probe adds to the more than thirty similar investigations that NHTSA has launched since 2016 regarding Tesla incidents where the company's advanced driver-assistance systems may have been at play.

Tesla had previously branded this technology as Autopilot but changed the name earlier this year due to legal issues with California regulators, who argued that the term could mislead consumers about what the system actually does.

The investigation emerges as Tesla maintains its push for autonomous driving developments and its plans for widespread robotaxi services.

A tracking site, TeslaDeaths.com, has reported at least 65 fatalities related to crashes that involved Tesla's Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) systems from 2013 to 2025.