The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has confirmed that the driver of a Tesla who crashed into a house in Katy, Texas, had pushed the accelerator pedal to its maximum limit, overriding the car's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. Data recovered from the vehicle showed the car was travelling over 70 miles per hour at the time of impact, killing 76-year-old resident Martha Avila.
Michael Butler, aged 44 and the driver of the Tesla, has been charged with manslaughter. His family has also sued both himself and Tesla for negligence. The car was reportedly in Full Self-Driving (Supervised) mode on a residential two-lane road with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
Butler told authorities that he had 'passed out' while using the system, but police found his Google searches suggested he was unsatisfied with Tesla's driving capabilities. The NTSB reported clear weather conditions and no road obstacles during the incident.
The revelation has sparked debate on the reliability of self-driving technology, with Elon Musk stating that FSD drives slowly in neighbourhood streets, contradicting the high-speed crash.
