The family of 76-year-old Martha Avila has filed a lawsuit against Tesla and the driver of a Model 3 after the elderly woman died when the vehicle crashed through the wall of her home in Katy, Texas, on June 19.
According to the lawsuit, the car had the Autopilot system activated when it left the road at high speed and struck the residence, also injuring the victim’s daughter and son-in-law.
The lawsuit accuses Tesla of negligence and claims that the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems have design flaws and do not adequately warn drivers about their limitations. The family is also suing the driver, Michael Butler, for allegedly failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.
After the crash, Tesla disputed the claim that the driver-assistance system was responsible for the collision. According to Ashok Elluswamy, head of the company’s Autopilot division, vehicle data indicates that the driver fully pressed the accelerator, overriding the system’s control shortly before impact.
The case is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The crash has once again drawn attention to the operation of Tesla’s driver-assistance systems, which have already been the subject of dozens of federal investigations following serious crashes reported in the United States.
76-year-old Martha was inside her own home when a Tesla, reportedly on autopilot, came crashing through her wall and took her life. This is not the first time we have had these conversations about Teslas. The federal government has now opened an investigation and we will be… pic.twitter.com/yVq32BPZrH
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 25, 2026
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Photos and video: Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 5 / GoFundMe / X @AttorneyCrump. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
