A Tesla Model 3 driven by 44-year-old Michael Butler crashed into a house in Katy, Texas, in June 2026, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila inside the home [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Butler admitted to using Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised feature prior to the crash [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed Butler manually overrode the FSD system by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100 percent, causing the vehicle to accelerate beyond 70 mph (113 km/h) in a residential area limited to 30 mph (48 km/h) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Tesla’s VP of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, stated on social media, "In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100 percent of the accel pedal in this residential area" [1]. Elluswamy later added the car reached 73 mph during the crash and the accelerator remained pressed after impact [5].
The crash took place on a two-lane residential road under clear weather, dry pavement, and daylight conditions [1, 3, 4]. Authorities found no traces of alcohol or drugs in Butler’s system and noted he never applied the brake pedal before the collision [5]. Butler told police he "passed out" and did not recall leaving the highway or turning onto residential streets before the crash [2, 3, 4, 5]. His phone data showed multiple Google searches about Tesla FSD being "not aggressive enough" or "too timid" for city driving [3, 4].
Butler was working as a DoorDash delivery driver at the time of the accident [2, 5]. The victim’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Butler and Tesla on June 24, 2026, alleging negligence [3, 5]. Butler was charged with manslaughter in early July 2026 [4, 5].
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a broader investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology in October 2025 and continues to investigate the crash and overall FSD safety [1, 3, 4, 5]. Elon Musk disputed allegations against Tesla’s system publicly, stating, "FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!" [3].
On July 15, 2026, the NTSB released a preliminary report confirming Butler’s manual override of the autopilot before the fatal crash [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Court proceedings against Butler are ongoing as the investigation continues.
