Tesla Cybertruck fire and alleged design flaw. . .

[Brian Malone]

This story says a lawsuit has been filed against Tesla on behalf of the family of a man who crashed his CT and was unable to open the electrically operated doors after the electrical system became damaged by the crash, and he perished in the vehicle fire created by the battery in a thermal runaway condition.

Tesla Cybertruck burned so hot in crash, driver’s bones literally disintegrated: suit

Exclusive: “There’s my challenge to Elon,” attorney S. Scott West told The Independent. “Make these vehicles so safe that I don’t have to do this anymore.”

www.independent.co.uk

I am not familiar with the Tesla door releases - I have ridden in Model 3 and a Y with Uber rides but did not pay attention to the door mechanisms. My cars are 2005, 2009, and 2021 models by Toyota, Nissan, and Buick and they all have a mechanical linkage to actuate their door releases ( electrical locks /remotes move the mechanical linkages).

Those of you familiar with the Tesla doors - is the setup a design flaw for emergency exit? Does this lawsuit have merit for a major safety issue or is this a heart-broken family reacting to a tragic loss. Have other auto manufacturers gone to purely electrically actuated door releases?

 

[3DDave]

They put an emergency mechanical release pull behind an unlabeled removable panel. I think it is hidden this way for two reasons. The first is that everything they do has to be different. Every. Thing. The other is that the mechanism is too weak to be used every time the door is opened and by hiding it they save wear and tear. Why is it so weak? Did I mention that every thing they do has to be different? I have no idea how they decided that this was possible.

I think one other car company did a similar thing - battery dies and door won't open - but I don't recall who.

 

[verymadmac]

If you place an "emergency release" where it can't be found in an emergency by the average user perhaps its technically just a "manual release cable". And manual here appears to refer to the need to use the manual to find its location and its mode of operation.

 

[BrianPetersen]

Tesla doors have an inside mechanical release, but it's in a different location from the way users normally open the doors, so they wouldn't necessarily know about it. (Bad.) The cybertruck has an additional problem in that there is no outside mechanical door handle at all. (Very bad.)

Tesla isn't the only manufacturer to go to flush exterior door handles whose operation is not necessarily intuitive.

I don't understand what's wrong with a plain ordinary mechanical door handle, inside or out, that you just pull to unlatch the door.

It isn't an EV thing. My Chevy Bolt has plain ordinary mechanical door handles, inside or out, that are easy and intuitive to use.

 

[LionelHutz]

Putting the manual release behind a panel is complete stupidity.

Other cars do have electric door latches. Later model Corvettes do. The manual release is a pull-up lever between the seat and door, one on each side. Easy to reach and pull as long as you were shown it's there.

 

[waross]

I think one other car company did a similar thing - battery dies and door won't open - but I don't recall who.

BMW. Battery dead, can't open the doors. YouTube video; just open the hood and back-feed power from the under-hood light.
Ya, just open the door and pull the hood release, and then you can back-feed to open the doors.
The SUV was in pretty bad shape. The doors were still locked when it went to the shredder.