National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) he said On Wednesday, the driver of the Tesla that crashed into a house in June exceeded the company’s Fully Self-Driving (Supervised) program by pushing the gas pedal all the way to 100%.
According to the NTSB, data from the Tesla showed the car was going 70 miles per hour when it crashed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing 76-year-old resident Martha Avila. The victim’s family then sued the alleged driver, Michael Butler, 44, and Tesla, alleging negligence. Butler has also been accused by murder.
The safety board shared the information as part of a preliminary report on the progress of its investigation into the accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating the incident.
The data corroborates Tesla’s account of the crash shared in the days after it happened to show that its advanced driver assistance system is not to blame. “(T)his (claim) makes no sense. FSD drives slowly on neighborhood streets and this was a high speed accident!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk he wrote in X shortly after the accident.
The 44-year-old driver was using Full Self-Driving (supervised) on Rose Hollow Lane, a two-lane residential road with a 30 mph speed limit, before the crash, the NTSB said Wednesday. Security camera footage obtained by the security board showed the car speeding through the intersection, leaving the road and crashing into the house. According to the NTSB, “the weather was clear, the road was dry, and daylight conditions were present.”
Tesla requires drivers using Full Self-Driving (Controlled) to pay attention to the road and be ready to take control at any moment. Butler allegedly told authorities he “passed out” and was using the Tesla’s driver assistance system. According to the report, police found that his Google searches included the phrases “Tesla FSD 2026 not aggressive enough”, “Tesla not aggressive enough” and “Tesla FSD too shy”. local ABC news channel KTRK TV.
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