A Texas woman has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $1 million in damages from Tesla and a driver after a Model 3 crashed into her family's home, killing her mother. Jennifer Barbour filed the suit in a local court days after her 76-year-old mother, Martha Avila, died from injuries sustained in the incident.
The Tesla driver reportedly told police that the vehicle's "full self-driving" technology was engaged at the time of the crash. Barbour's lawsuit accuses Tesla of defective design and negligence, alleging the company promotes unsafe technology.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, denied on social media that the self-driving technology was at fault, citing the high speed of the impact. "This makes no sense," Musk wrote on X, the platform he owns.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's vice president of AI software, provided a different account, stating on X that the driver was traveling at 73 mph and had overridden the self-driving mode by pressing the accelerator to 100%. Elluswamy also claimed the accelerator remained engaged after the collision.
However, the complaint filed by Jennifer and Justin Barbour presents a contrasting narrative. It asserts that the driver was operating the vehicle in a "reasonably foreseeable manner" with full self-driving engaged when the car's technology "failed to detect the end of the street," leading to "sudden unintended acceleration" and the subsequent crash into the residence. In addition to her mother's death, Barbour claims her husband suffered severe injuries. The lawsuit seeks damages for anguish, injury, and medical expenses, as well as exemplary damages, asserting Tesla's actions were "grossly negligent."
The crash is currently under investigation by Texas police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S. government's auto safety regulator. Tesla's self-driving capabilities have faced increasing scrutiny. Last week, Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the NHTSA urging an investigation into the safety risks associated with Tesla's full self-driving technology.