Elon Musk is pushing back against claims that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system caused a crash that killed a 76-year-old grandmother in Texas, saying the high-speed impact proves the technology wasn’t at fault.
Martha Avila was killed when a Tesla Model 3 plowed through her home in a residential area of Katy, Texas. The driver, Michael Butler, told police Autopilot was engaged when he lost control. The family sued Tesla and Butler, seeking over $1 million in damages.
Musk posted on X that “FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets, and this was a high-speed crash,” implying the driver was at fault. Tesla’s VP of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, went further, claiming Butler manually pressed the accelerator to 100% — reaching 73 mph in a residential area — and held it down even after impact.
The family’s lawsuit presents two alternative theories. One focuses on “Sudden Unintended Acceleration,” a known issue where voltage spikes from the battery can cause the inverter to misread pedal input. The other suggests Tesla’s cost-cutting during the chip shortage removed critical obstacle-detection hardware from the vehicle.
There’s also the data problem. The lawsuit cites a Washington Post analysis linking at least 17 fatal incidents to Autopilot, and alleges Tesla has a history of making it difficult for attorneys to obtain vehicle crash data. The family is demanding Tesla preserve all evidence, including the car itself.
NHTSA is investigating. Police found no evidence of mechanical malfunction so far. The full picture will likely take months to emerge.
