Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has called for Tesla to be held accountable for its alleged role in a fatal crash last week in Texas. Police stated that the driver of a Model 3 was utilizing the vehicle’s assisted driving system when it crashed into a brick house, resulting in the death of 76-year-old Martha Avila.
“Tesla must be held accountable and [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] should move much more quickly and effectively to investigate and hold it accountable,” Blumenthal told NBC News in an exclusive interview. The incident, which occurred in the Houston suburb of Katy, has drawn significant attention, partly due to video footage showing the car colliding with the side of a home. The crash has prompted two federal investigations and intensified scrutiny of Tesla’s driver assistance technology.
Tesla’s Response and Senator’s Scrutiny
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to news of the incident on X, stating, “this makes no sense. FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash.” He was referring to Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) technology. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president of AI, also posted on X, claiming the driver had manually overridden the self-driving mode by accelerating to 100%. Neither Musk nor Elluswamy, nor the driver, have publicly shared car data from the crash that could support these claims.
Blumenthal dismissed Musk’s statement as an attempt to “evade responsibility.” The senator’s demand for investigation and accountability is part of a broader, ongoing effort by him and other watchdogs to increase oversight of Tesla’s advanced assisted driving systems. According to Blumenthal, these systems have been the subject of nearly 50 special investigations by NHTSA.
Just three days prior to the Texas crash, Senators Blumenthal and Edward Markey, D-Mass., sent a letter to NHTSA demanding a thorough investigation into the safety risks associated with Tesla’s FSD technology. They argued that Tesla’s safety claims, such as its assertion that FSD cars are “10x safer” than human-driven vehicles, are based on “incomplete safety statistics.” The senators also requested greater data transparency from Tesla, noting that the company frequently redacts portions of incident reports submitted to NHTSA.
Concerns Over Data Reporting and Safety Claims
The senators’ letter also raised concerns about how Tesla counts crashes in its safety reports. Tesla’s methodology considers a collision to have involved FSD only if the system was engaged within five seconds of impact. This is a significantly narrower window than the 30 seconds NHTSA uses to determine which crashes manufacturers must report. The senators contend that this tighter window contributes to Tesla’s system appearing safer than the data supports.
Blumenthal expressed skepticism regarding Tesla’s data analysis, characterizing it as relying on incomplete and misleading studies. He noted that Tesla and Musk have consistently resisted efforts to mandate greater transparency. “Tesla’s owned by the richest man in the world. Elon Musk is a trillionaire, he could well afford to make this system safer, or at the very least provide the public with complete and accurate information about the potential dangers of FSD and make information fully transparent and accurate, but he’s failing to do so,” Blumenthal stated. He urged NHTSA to require Tesla and other companies to disclose comprehensive data, including vehicle miles traveled, deployed vehicles, crash severity, road type, and operating conditions.
Markey echoed these sentiments, stating, “All I’m asking from them is to prove it. What are they hiding? That’s why I called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require Tesla and all autonomous vehicle companies to release comprehensive safety data on their self-driving vehicles.”
In addition to criticizing Tesla, Blumenthal also faulted NHTSA’s response to the company, citing a “lack of focus and aggressiveness, but also a scarcity of staff.”
NHTSA has confirmed it has opened an investigation into the crash but declined to comment further while the investigation is ongoing. The family of Martha Avila is reportedly suing both Tesla and the driver, according to their attorneys. This lawsuit follows a March letter from seven families involved in previous Tesla crashes, urging continued scrutiny of the company’s assisted driving technology.
Blumenthal advised caution regarding Tesla’s FSD mode, suggesting that companies are using the public as a testing ground. “These companies are using the public as a kind of sandbox for testing their systems in real time with real people, and in Tesla’s case, failing to provide information that will adequately inform the public. I guess if I were to distill it down, it would be ‘caveat emptor,’ buyer beware,” he said.
Norman Pearlstine is the Chief Editor of News Raise and focuses on Business news. His responsibility is to oversee the editorial content including business, commodities, personal investments and the stock market.
