He searched for 'FSD too conservative' — then his Tesla crashed through a home, killing a woman

There’s a grim irony in the search history police pulled from Michael Butler’s phone. In May 2026, weeks before the crash, Butler repeatedly Googled variations of “2026 Tesla FSD not aggressive enough” and “FSD too conservative on city streets.” Some queries were so rushed they contained typos.

On June 19, Butler’s Tesla Model 3 plowed through a residential home in Katy, Texas, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila. On Wednesday, police arrested Butler and charged him with criminally negligent homicide.

According to the arrest affidavit, Butler told first responders the car was in “autopilot” at the time of the crash. He said he was delivering food for DoorDash, switching music and glancing at the navigation screen, when the vehicle veered off course. He later told hospital staff he remembered activating the self-driving mode and then lost consciousness. Toxicology reports came back negative for alcohol and drugs.

Tesla’s AI chief Ashok Elluswamy pushed back on the narrative that FSD was at fault. In a post on X, he said data showed Butler had the accelerator pedal floored — at 100% — manually overriding the autonomous system. Elluswamy’s account was backed by the vehicle’s “black box” data and footage from the Model 3’s onboard cameras.

The officer’s affidavit paints a harrowing picture of the final seconds. “The video shows Butler’s Tesla continuously accelerating, with the accelerator pedal being pressed deeper and deeper,” the officer wrote. Over roughly six seconds, Butler pressed the pedal to the floor, pushing the car to 117 km/h — more than double the residential speed limit. The vehicle hurtled toward the end of a cul-de-sac, hit the curb in Avila’s driveway, went airborne, and crashed into the front of the house. The brake pedal was never pressed in the final minute before impact.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have both opened investigations. Avila’s family has filed wrongful death lawsuits against both Tesla and Butler.

The case raises questions that go beyond one driver’s choices. Tesla has sold the FSD package as a $12,000 option, marketing it as capable of handling most driving tasks. But the system’s limitations — especially in complex suburban environments — are well-documented. When drivers treat “Full Self-Driving” as a promise rather than a beta feature, the gap between marketing and reality can have lethal consequences.