The alleged driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, now faces a manslaughter charge. He went before a judge on Thursday morning, where his bond was set at $150,000. Online records show that as of Thursday morning, Butler is still in Harris County jail.
According to authorities, the crash happened on June 19. Surveillance video shows Butler's Tesla barreling into the home on Blooming Park Lane in Katy.
Court documents state Butler was working as a DoorDash driver at the time of the incident. Butler allegedly told investigators that the last thing he remembered was operating the car on Highway 6 and in full self-driving mode.
Butler reportedly said the car was on autopilot and then he "passed out." Records alleged Butler denied feeling ill earlier in the day and has no history of seizures. He also tested negative for seizures, stroke, or heart attack, and no alcohol or street drugs were found in his system.
As a result of the crash, 76-year-old Martha Avila was killed. Her family told ABC13 they were cooking dinner and she happened to be in the front playroom of the home when the Tesla plowed through.
At the time of the crash, investigators said Butler claimed his car was in self-driving mode, but Tesla since disputed that and claimed he overrode the feature.
Updated court records state that investigators downloaded the crash data, black box, and received consent to search Butler's phone. They reportedly found that Butler used full self-driving mode for multiple DoorDash locations before the crash with no issues.
Investigators accuse Butler of overriding the self-driving mode by using the accelerator just before the crash and rolling through a stop sign.
Documents state the Tesla was supposed to turn left, but instead, the accelerator was pressed, causing the car to speed up, and the steering wheel turned right.
In just six seconds, the pedal was all the way down, the Tesla continued straight at 73 MPH, and went airborne into the house, records alleged.
According to court documents, it was also found that the brake pedal was not pressed, Butler did not try to turn away, and there were no mechanical issues with the vehicle. Authorities investigated Butler's Google searches and found search terms including: "Tesla FSD not aggressive enough 2026," "Tesla not aggressive enough," and "Tesla FSD too timid."
Since the crash, Avila's daughter and son-in-law have filed a lawsuit, naming Tesla and Butler as the defendants.
Butler is due back in court on Monday.