A Texas woman is suing Tesla and a driver for at least $1 million (£759,000) in damages after a Tesla Model 3 crashed into her family home, killing her mother, according to a BBC report. Jennifer Barbour filed her lawsuit in a local court on Tuesday, days after her 76-year-old mother Martha Avila died from injuries sustained in the incident.
The Crash
The driver told police he was using the car's autonomous or 'full self-driving' technology at the time of the crash, the BBC reported. The vehicle sped into the Barbour residence, which was shared by Barbour and her mother.
The Lawsuit
In the complaint, Barbour accuses Tesla of defective design and negligence by promoting technology that is unsafe, the BBC stated. The lawsuit argues that the driver was operating the Tesla in a 'reasonably foreseeable manner' with full self-driving engaged when the car's technology 'failed to detect the end of the street', went into 'sudden unintended acceleration' and crashed into the home. In addition to the death of her mother, Barbour claims her husband Justin Barbour also suffered severe and grievous injuries. Monetary damages sought include compensation for anguish, injury, medical expenses, and 'exemplary' damages because Tesla's actions have been 'grossly negligent'.
Tesla's Defense
Elon Musk took to X, the social media platform he owns, to refute the idea that Tesla's self-driving technology was to blame because the crash happened at a high speed. 'This makes no sense,' Musk wrote on Monday, according to the BBC. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's vice president of AI software, followed up with more detail on the accident. Elluswamy wrote that the driver was going at 73mph (117 km/h) and had overridden the car's self-driving mode 'by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%'. He also claimed that the driver 'had the accelerator pushed even after the crash'.
Regulatory Scrutiny
The crash remains under investigation by police in Texas and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US government's auto safety regulator. The BBC noted that Tesla's self-driving technology has come under increased criticism and scrutiny. Last week, Democratic Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the NHTSA demanding that the agency investigate Tesla's full self-driving technology for its safety risks.
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