Tesla has clarified that a fatal crash in Texas was caused by the driver manually overriding the vehicle's systems. The company shared data showing the accelerator was pressed to 100 percent, reaching 73 mph in a residential area.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Autopilot director Ashok Elluswamy responded to reports linking the crash to Full Self-Driving or Autopilot. Musk noted that FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets, making the high-speed incident inconsistent with the software's behavior.
Elluswamy provided vehicle telemetry data. He stated that the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100 percent in the residential area. The car reached 73 mph during the crash, and the accelerator remained pressed even after impact.
The incident involved a Model 3 that slammed into a home and fatally struck Martha Avila. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Autopilot played a role. Tesla said it will cooperate with the agency and provide all requested information.
This follows a similar 2021 crash in Harris County, Texas, where investigations later confirmed no Autopilot use. Elluswamy criticized the reporting for spreading fear about the technology, which he said is safer than manual driving based on over 10 billion miles of data.