'Autopilot' Tesla that plowed through brick wall of house and killed woman prompts federal investigation

Published: 02:14, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 02:14, 24 June 2026 Tesla is under federal investigation after one of its vehicles was allegedly in 'Autopilot' mode when it plowed through a brick wall of a house and killed a woman in Texas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a special investigation on Monday into the Tesla Model 3 crash on June 19 in Katy, just outside Houston. Martha Avila, 76, died after 44-year-old Michael Butler's Tesla veered off a quiet residential road while Autopilot mode was activated, before penetrating the front of the house, according to KHOU. Butler was operating the vehicle 'with an automated driving assistance system,' according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The family home was occupied by two parents, three young children, and Avila at the time of the crash. Doorbell footage uploaded to X revealed the harrowing moment the Tesla veered off the road and onto Avila's property after crossing an intersection, barreling full speed towards the home. Emergency crews rushed to the scene, where Life Flight airlifted Avila to the hospital, and he was later pronounced dead after life-saving measures were performed. Investigators have stated that Butler showed no signs of intoxication and is co-operating fully with authorities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a special investigation on Monday into the Tesla Model 3 crash on June 19 in Katy, Texas Martha Avila, 76, died after 44-year-old Michael Butler's Telsa rammed into her home. She was airlifted to the hospital, and he was later pronounced dead after life-saving measures were performed Tesla’s vice president of AI and software, Ashok Elluswamy, said in a post to X that the driver manually 'overrode the self-driving' system. 'In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100 percent of the accel pedal in this residential area,' wrote Elluswamy. 'They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.' Harris County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Alex Turman, an accident investigator and public information officer, told ABC that the cause of the crash has not been determined. 'We’re digging into that. That’s a line of investigation for sure,' Turman responded when asked whether the vehicle’s automated driving features were in use. Turman added that investigators are working with people familiar with Tesla vehicles and with the driver to determine 'what role the driver’s control over the car played in this crash.' Tesla’s controversial 'Autopilot' feature, despite its name, is not a fully self-driving system and still requires constant driver supervision. Tesla’s controversial 'Autopilot' feature, despite its name, is not a fully self-driving system and still requires constant driver supervision. Musk said in December that he expects to have fully autonomous vehicles in somewhere 'between a quarter and half of the United States' by the end of the year  Critics argue the branding is dangerously misleading, lulling motorists into a false sense of security, who may assume the car is capable of driving itself. This is not the first incident involving Teslas in Texas in recent months. In April, a driver reported that his Tesla randomly accelerated through a railroad gate, only narrowly missing a fast-approaching train. A year prior, NHTSA launched an investigation into roughly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over 'Full Self-Driving' running red lights and driving the wrong way, and the agency upgraded that probe in March 2026 to an engineering analysis. The Daily Mail has reached out to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Tesla for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.