Tesla driver charged with manslaughter after vehicle crashes into Texas home

A Harris County judge arraigned Michael David Butler, 44, on manslaughter charges following a June 19 crash in Katy, Texas, that killed 76-year-old Martha Avila. Court documents indicate Butler told investigators he was operating a Tesla Model 3 with the driver-assistance system engaged and that the vehicle was on "Autopilot" when it left the roadway and struck Avila’s home.

Paramedics air-lifted Avila to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The arrest affidavit alleges Butler was making a DoorDash delivery, adjusted the car’s music, and then "passed out" while the vehicle accelerated to about 73 mph, well above the posted limit, without the brake being applied. Ring doorbell footage captured the car hitting the house at high speed.

Tesla officials have contested Butler’s account. Elon Musk said a vehicle operating in Full Self-Driving mode would travel slowly on residential streets, and Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI, wrote on X that the driver manually overrode the system by fully depressing the accelerator.

Butler appeared in probable-cause court, where bail was set at $150,000, and he was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and refrain from driving. Avila’s family has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, alleging the company’s negligence and failure to warn consumers about defects in its self-driving technology.