Bloomberg reporters counted at least 15 deaths in over a dozen accidents involving a Tesla car in the last ten years. In all of these incidents, the people inside or rescuers were unable to open the doors after the electric car crashed and caught fire. While these cases represent only a small fraction of the hundreds of fatal crashes involving electric vehicles over the same period, the number is growing, with more than half of the cases on the list occurring after November 2024, the agency claims.
Details
The latest fatality, as reported by Bloomberg, occurred in October in Massachusetts: a 20-year-old man died after his Tesla Model Y crashed into a tree and caught fire. According to the police report, the driver managed to contact a 911 dispatcher and reported that "he was trapped in the vehicle after the accident," the agency recounts.
At the same time, Bloomberg emphasizes that there are no complete and publicly available statistics from state or federal agencies on how many people were trapped by faulty doors and died as a result. It is often impossible to establish exactly what happened between the moment of the accident and the car fire, and whether the person was trying to leave the cabin at that moment, the agency writes.
Other automakers also have problems with electronic door handles, Bloomberg notes: about 70 models on U.S. roads are equipped with such locks today. But Tesla accounts for the largest number of complaints, the agency says.
What Tesla is doing
The company did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment. However, chairman Robin Denholm has previously said the board takes all safety cases seriously. Tesla has maintained that it complies with local and federal laws, its vehicles get high marks in crash tests and are equipped with manual emergency door openers. The automaker noted that door problems are common throughout the industry and are not unique to Tesla.
However, the company is considering possible changes to the door design, including automatically disabling the locks when the battery is low and automatically opening the doors shortly before they are fully discharged. Tesla's chief designer told Bloomberg in September that the company is preparing to modify door handles to combine electronic and mechanical opening methods.
Last week, Tesla announced the launch of a new safety page on its website. There, the company indicated that car doors will now automatically unlock for emergency access when a serious accident is detected. However, it is unclear when exactly this feature was introduced and for which models it is in effect. A footnote states that some features may not be available in certain regions, for certain models or depending on the production date.
Are there any investigations
A problem with electronic locks that lock doors after an accident caught the attention of regulators in September. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into whether locking the doors after power to the lock has been cut is a malfunction, and whether it prevents some Tesla Model Y vehicles from being entered after an accident. NHTSA has asked Tesla for a detailed list of consumer complaints and reports of crashes, injuries, deaths or fires. Authorities in China and Europe are also considering changing regulations on how electronic locks work.
What about the stock
Tesla shares rose 1.9% in trading on Friday, December 22. In total, their value has risen 22% this year, making the company one of three members of the "Magnificent Seven" that have grown more than the S&P 500 index over the year - along with Alphabet and Nvidia, CNBC calculated .
The value of Tesla's car business is only a small fraction of the company's current market capitalization, William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer pointed out last week. He estimated that part only accounts for about $30 to $40, while the stock is now trading at $487. "Tesla is increasingly viewed through the lens of autonomous technology and energy," the analyst wrote.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
