World·NewThe top U.S. auto regulator opened an investigation Monday after a Tesla using an automated driving feature slammed into a Texas home at high speed and killed a 76-year-old woman standing inside.Investigation is latest by auto safety regulator to look into Tesla safety violationsBernard Condon · The Associated Press · Posted: Jun 23, 2026 4:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening an investigation after a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a house in Texas, killing a 76-year-old woman. (Ben Nelms/CBC)The top U.S. auto regulator opened an investigation Monday after a Tesla using an automated driving feature slammed into a Texas home at high speed and killed a 76-year-old woman standing inside.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's opening a special investigation into the Tesla Model 3 crash that occurred on Friday near Houston. The car was using technology that Elon Musk considers key to the company's future.The Tesla CEO is rolling out robotaxis using automated software in several U.S. cities this year and plans to invite Tesla owners to put their cars into the fleet using the same system across the country.The driver told the Harris County Sheriff's Office that he was using the technology, according to a police report on the crash. It is not clear if this technology played a role into the incident. Video shows car ramming into homeTesla did not respond to a request for comment, but the head of the company's artificial intelligence efforts suggested on social media the self-driving feature was not to blame."In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area," wrote Ashok Elluswamy on X on Monday, the platform that is now part of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX.Tesla asks court to overturn exclusion from Manitoba EV rebate programVideoSpaceX's stratospheric IPO makes Elon Musk world's first trillionaire"They reached a speed of 73 mph [119 km/h] during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash."The police report noted the driver was not drunk and is co-operating. It identified the woman killed as Martha Avila.Video obtained by KHOU-TV shows the car travelling at top speed over the front lawn of a brick home in Katy, Texas, then ramming into a front room. The next shot shows the car encased in the home amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture.Tesla has been investigated beforeThe auto safety regulator, known as NHTSA, has launched several investigations into Tesla, including one late last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.A few months earlier, the NHTSA opened an investigation into why Tesla apparently had not been reporting crashes promptly as required.The U.S. auto safety regulator has launched several investigations into Tesla, including one last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology. (Jenny Kane/The Associated Press)As for special crash investigations, the NHTSA has opened an additional 46 cases involving Teslas using self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past decade, according to the agency's records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.Tesla stock fell sharply early last year. Car sales plunged amid a boycott of Musk after he waded into politics, leading President Donald Trump's budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency initiative and embracing European extremist candidates.Musk has since shifted the Tesla story to one less about car sales and more about AI and robotaxis, and done so successfully. The stock is up 16 per cent in the past year.