A bystander tried to open the doors on the Tesla but failed.
A 43-year-old man and two kids burned to death — and left another child injured — after the Tesla they were riding in slammed into a tree and burst into flames in Germany.
There are a lot of unknowns surrounding the horrific September 7 accident, which was reported by German outlets Bild and 20 Minuten, and flagged in English by People magazine, but CEO Elon Musk’s electric vehicle has already been under heavy scrutiny for reports of Teslas trapping kids inside and for fatal accidents involving its self-driving tech system and Cybertruck.
The accident in question, which occurred in the town of Schwerte, happened when the driver of the Tesla attempted to pass a caravan of vehicles and then, mysteriously, swerved off the road.
The car then drove into a ditch and slammed into a tree, causing the Tesla to catch fire. Inside, the driver and the two nine-year-old kids were killed by the flames, but a third child — also nine — miraculously was able to get out of the vehicle, and was then flown to a hospital for treatment.
A bystander also tried to open the doors but couldn’t rescue the people inside, and it took firefighters several times to extinguish the flames, according to 20 Minuten. It’s not clear how the child survivor of the horrific accident was able to exit the vehicle — whether they were rescued by first responders or were able to break out of the car on their own.
It’s not clear what combination of self-driving tech and door design might have contributed to the tragedy. But the incident, which is under investigation, is enough to give anybody pause about the overall safety of Tesla’s vehicles.
That’s certainly the case in California, where state officials are currently suing Tesla for misleading advertising on its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems and is seeking to pause sale of the vehicles in the state.
Tesla had to recently settle lawsuits for two fatal accidents, one in California and another in Florida, with the Autopilot being found at fault in both incidents.
As for Tesla doors, the company is now planning to redesign them so that they can be opened in case of an emergency. The doors in a Model Y become inoperable when power is cut off to a battery, which forces any occupant to perform a manual release; unfortunately, it’s difficult for children to activate the feature.
All of this in addition to Tesla’s woes with its robotaxis getting into accidents, leading to additional questions about their safety, reliability and overall quality.
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