Tesla Hits House and Kills Elderly, US Regulator Opens Investigation

JAKARTA - The United States road safety regulator opened a special investigation after a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a house in Texas and killed a 76-year-old woman. The car was reportedly using an automatic driving assistance system.

As reported by Al Jazeera, quoted Tuesday, June 23, the fatal incident occurred on June 19 near Houston. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA said it had opened an investigation into the accident.

"NHTSA is launching a Special Crash Investigation into this crash," an agency spokesperson said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas, said the driver admitted to using the Model 3's automatic driving assistance system when the car went off the road and hit a house.

Police said the driver showed no signs of being drunk and cooperated with investigators.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk denied reports that the car was in automatic driving assistance mode when the accident occurred.

"FSD is slow on neighborhood roads and this is a high-speed accident," Elon Musk wrote on X, referring to Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature.

Tesla's AI vice president, Ashok Elluswamy, also denied that the company's technology was to blame for the accident. He said the driver took manual control of the system by pressing the gas pedal.

According to Elluswamy, the car reached a speed of 73 miles per hour or about 117 kilometers per hour during the accident. He also said the gas pedal was still pressed even after the collision. However, Al Jazeera noted that Elluswamy did not mention the source for the explanation.

The accident occurred while Tesla's driver assistance system was under the supervision of US regulators. Although it is called Full Self-Driving, the technology is not yet fully autonomous. Drivers are still required to supervise the vehicle at all times.

Elon Musk has made autonomous driving technology one of Tesla's major strategies. He once estimated that 90 percent of driving activity in the US would be autonomous in a decade.

In recent years, Tesla's driver assistance system has been linked to a number of fatal crash reports.

In October, NHTSA opened an investigation to look at the scope, frequency, and potential safety impact of the technology. The investigation was conducted after 58 reports of Tesla incidents breaking through red lights or entering the opposite lane.

In March, regulators stepped up their investigation into the performance of automated driving assistance modes in poor visibility conditions, including fog, glare from the sun, or other obstructions.

Tesla denies its self-driving technology is dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. The company claims the system is up to 10 times safer than human drivers.