Tesla driver charged with manslaughter over crash into Texas home

A fatal crash in Texas has led to manslaughter charges against Michael David Butler, 44, after his Tesla allegedly drove into a home and killed resident Martha Avila, 76. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office reported that Butler's vehicle entered the front room of the residence on June 19, pinning Avila, who was later pronounced deceased. Butler told police the car was operating on autopilot at the time of the incident.

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This makes no sense. FSD (Full Self-Driving) drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high-speed crash!

Investigators, however, stated that Butler was driving a Tesla Model 3 and failed to maintain his lane, leaving the roadway before crashing into the house at high speed. According to a police news release, Butler showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a special investigation into the crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk publicly questioned the autopilot claim, stating on X that Full Self-Driving software drives slowly in neighborhoods and that this was a high-speed crash. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's vice-president of autopilot, further alleged on X that the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator to 100%, reaching 73 mph even after the crash.

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Yup. In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accelerator pedal in this residential area. They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.

Avila's family has filed a lawsuit against both Butler and Tesla in Harris County District Court. They allege a design defect, failure to warn, and negligence. The lawsuit reportedly cites a 2023 Washington Post analysis of government data that linked at least 17 fatal incidents to Tesla's Autopilot system. The family seeks over US$1 million in damages. Tesla has not yet responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

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The actions and inactions of Defendant Butler were done with reckless disregard for a substantial risk of severe bodily injury.