Description: On June 19, 2026, Michael Butler's Tesla Model 3 reportedly left the roadway in Katy, Texas, and struck a home at high speed, killing resident Martha Avila. Butler reportedly told investigators that an automated driving-assistance system was engaged. Tesla's Autopilot vice president reportedly later said Butler had manually overridden self-driving by fully depressing the accelerator. Local authorities and NHTSA have opened investigations.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Tesla and Automated driving system developers developed an AI system deployed by Michael Butler and Drivers, which harmed Martha Avila , Home occupants and Building occupants.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Tesla Autopilot and Automated driving systems
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1552
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2026-06-19
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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A driver in a Tesla vehicle that was engaged in automated driver-assistance mode crashed into a house in Texas on Friday night and killed a woman inside, the authorities said.
The driver, Michael Butler, was in a Tesla Model 3 about 8 p.m. …
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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