US opens probe into fatal Tesla crash into Texas home

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a fatal Tesla crash in Texas, the agency's 49th probe into incidents involving Teslas with advanced driver assistance systems.

A U.S. agency ​on Monday said it was investigating ‌the ​June 19 fatal crash of a Tesla Model 3 that was reportedly using an advanced driver assistance system when it struck a ‌home in Katy, Texas, fatally injuring a 76-year-old woman. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened nearly 50 special crash investigations since 2016 into incidents involving Teslas in which advanced driver assistance systems such ‌as Autopilot were suspected of being used with abouttwo dozen deaths reported. Separately, NHTSA in ‌March escalated its probe into 3.2 million Tesla vehicles with Full Self-Driving driver-assistance on concerns the system may fail to detect or warn drivers in poor visibility. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fatal ⁠Texas ​crash. It was not ⁠clear what system the driver was using. Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X said that a media report about ⁠the investigation "makes no sense. FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!" NHTSA typically ​opens more than 100 special crash investigations annually into emerging technologies and other potential auto safety ⁠issues. Such investigations have previously helped to develop safety rules on air bags. This is the first Tesla SCI ⁠investigation ​opened since July 2023 and only the second this year following a probe into a fatal Toyota crash in April in Louisiana. In October, NHTSA launched a separate investigation into 2.88 million ⁠Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD over more than 50 reports of traffic safety violations and ⁠a series of crashes. Tesla ⁠in 2023 recalled 2 million vehicles — nearly all of its EVs on U.S. roads — to better ensure drivers pay attention when using its Autopilot ‌advanced driver ‌assistance system.