Four dead after being trapped inside burning Tesla

A fiery crash that killed four occupants of a Tesla Model Y in Canada has brought the company’s reliance on electronically opening doors to light once again, after the deceased were reportedly trapped in the burning car.

As reported by the Toronto Star, the crash occurred last month on Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto, Canada, with the Tesla bursting into flames after it impacted a metal barrier and concrete pillar at an undisclosed speed.

One of the Model Y’s five occupants was saved by a bystander who managed to smash the SUV’s rear window and pull her out, however the remaining four sadly perished.

Neither Tesla nor Toronto’s crash investigators have detailed why the occupants were unable to free themselves of the burning SUV, though the bystander who saved the lone survivor and a crash victim extraction expert have pointed to the Model Y’s unconventional door opening mechanism.

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The Tesla Model Y uses a small switch at the top of the door handle to open their doors when its low-voltage 12V battery is charged.

There’s also a cable-operated emergency bypass handle, which in the front is integrated into the armrest, and in the rear is underneath a rubbed mat in the door bin.

Given the nature of the crash, it’s possible the 12V battery was disconnected after the impact or following the fire breaking out, meaning the electronic door releases were not active.

The rescuing bystander also reported the Tesla’s cabin was filled with thick smoke, making it hard for the occupants to find the manual releases.

“Part of the problem is (salespeople) don’t inform the vehicle owners of this feature so it falls on the vehicle’s owner to seek out the information in their service manual that comes with every vehicle”, Randy Schmitz, Calgary Fire Department captain and Alberta Vehicle Extraction Association chairman, told the Toronto Star.

Last year, a mother and daughter in the US became trapped in their Tesla Model 3 rental car after its high-voltage went flat, with the pair claiming its doors were locked and could not open. They were not aware of its emergency bypass.

Tesla isn’t the only brand that has fitted door mechanisms like this, nor is it the only brand where electronic door releases have posed serious problems.

A 2018 incident saw a Cadillac XLR owner unable to open the convertible’s doors due to a flat battery. He was trapped inside for 14 hours.

Similar incidents have also impacted Chevrolet Corvette owners, with one such incident tragically resulting in the death of a man and his dog who’d become trapped on a hot day.