Michael Butler, 44, is facing manslaughter charges after his Tesla plowed through a home in Katy, Texas, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila. He was arrested Wednesday.
Butler told first responders he was using Tesla’s Full-Self Driving system when the crash happened. He said he was making DoorDash deliveries, changed the music, and looked at the navigation screen. Then his Model 3 went airborne into a house.
The arrest affidavit paints a grim picture. Data from the vehicle’s black box shows Butler pressed the accelerator to 100%. The car hit 73 mph — more than double the residential speed limit. The brake pedal was never pressed in the final minute before the crash.
Phone data turned up Google searches from May 2026: “Tesla fsd not aggressive enough 2026 model,” “tesla fsdnot aggressive enough 2026,” “FSD is not aggressive enough for city driving,” and “tesla fsd too timid.”
Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy responded after the crash, saying the driver “manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.”
Avila’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Tesla and Butler. The NHTSA and NTSB have both opened investigations.
An evaluation at the hospital didn’t find alcohol or drugs in Butler’s system.
