Authorities charged a Texas man with manslaughter after investigators found the accelerator pedal pressed all the way down on his Tesla Model 3 before it crashed into a home, killing a grandmother.

Michael David Butler, 44, had been using Tesla’s self-driving mode as he made DoorDash pickups and deliveries. However, moments before his Tesla crashed into a home, taking the life of an elderly woman, its accelerator was pressed “pedal to the metal,” overriding the electric vehicle’s self-driving features, according to The Washington Post.

The victim, Martha Avila, 76, had been standing in the front room of her home when the Tesla struck a curb in front of her house and went airborne barreling into her home. She was airlifted to the hospital but was later pronounced dead, according to ABC News.

A car driver tests a Tesla’s FSD (Full Self Driving) system on a road in Sabadell near Barcelona on May 26, 2026. Tesla’s FSD supervised total autonomous driving system is being tested in Europe prior its potential commercial use, that has been authorized in seven countries in the world. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images)

“In about six seconds, the accelerator pedal was pressed all the way down to 100%, ‘pedal to the metal’ and the vehicle reached a speed of 73 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit on the residential street,” Jae Philipbar, a deputy sheriff and investigator with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said according to the Houston Chronicle.

The sheriff’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Butler is being held on a $150,000 bond.

“On June 19, 2026, at approximately 20:03 hours, Michael Butler, 44,  was traveling eastbound in the 21300 block of Rose Hollow Lane in a Tesla Model 3. Butler stated he was operating with an automated driving assistance system engaged at the time of the crash,” the office said in a press release sent to the DCNF. “Butler failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway, and struck the residence of 1907 Blooming Park Lane. Butler’s Tesla entered through the brick residence, at a high rate of speed, and struck M. Avila who was inside the residence.”

The release added that there were “no signs of intoxication on Butler and he was corporative during the investigation.” The case is being investigated by the Vehicular Crimes Division of the sheriff’s office.

Investigators found that Butler had made multiple google searches about Tesla’s self-driving mode not being “aggressive enough,” before crashing into the home, according to the outlet. Butler had been “indicating an apparent frustration with Tesla’s Full Self Driving mode.”

Philipbar reviewed data from the vehicle and said Butler had, “activated and used full-self driving mode to operate the Tesla to travel to multiple DoorDash pick-ups and deliveries in the hours and minutes leading up to the crash, without experiencing any mechanical failure, collisions, or other driving incidents,” according to the Houston Chronicle. (RELATED: Elon Musk Converting Tesla Factory To Mass Produce Humanoid Robots)

“FSD mode was designed and is programmed to never travel at excessive or dangerous speeds in any locations, unless the driver overrides the speed and gains control of the speed by pressing on the accelerator pedal,” the deputy sheriff said, according to the outlet.

Avila’s family members filed a lawsuit against Tesla after the incident seeking $1 million in damages, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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