A Fatal Tesla Crash in Texas Sets Up a Legal Showdown
On a Texas evening last week, a 76-year-old grandmother named Martha Avila was standing in the front room of her suburban home when a Tesla Model 3 hurtled into her brick home at a reported speed of over 70 miles per hour, killing her.
The car’s driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, later told police that he had Tesla’s driver assistance features—which the automaker argues make driving safer and less stressful—engaged during the crash. Butler exhibited “no signs of intoxication,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the crash, noted in a report.
Now Avila’s family is suing not only Butler but also Tesla, alleging that the electric automaker's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver assistance feature, also called FSD, played a role in her death. The feature is designed to handle certain aspects of driving—including navigating city and residential roads, stopping for red lights and stop signs, and changing lanes—but requires...
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