The sole survivor of a fatal Cybertruck crash in Piedmont, California, has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s Tesla, claiming the vehicle’s electronic door system malfunctioned and trapped him inside the burning wreckage.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Jordan Miller has amended his lawsuit to include Tesla as a defendant, alleging that defective door mechanisms prevented his escape from a flaming Cybertruck following a November 2024 collision that killed three college students. The incident occurred on November 27, 2024, when the driver lost control while speeding and crashed into a tree at the intersection of Hampton Road and King Avenue in Piedmont.
Miller was riding in the passenger seat when driver Soren Dixon crashed the vehicle, which immediately burst into flames. Dixon and two other passengers died in the crash. According to the amended complaint filed in Alameda County Superior Court, Miller’s injuries would have been significantly less severe if the vehicle’s doors had functioned properly during the emergency.
The lawsuit describes how a friend who had been driving behind the Cybertruck attempted to rescue Miller from the burning vehicle but could not open the doors due to the absence of external handles. The electronic door controls had failed following the impact, leaving Miller trapped inside. The friend resorted to using a tree branch to repeatedly strike the front window until it shattered, finally allowing him to pull Miller from the wreckage.
Miller sustained severe burns to his legs, airways, and lungs, and suffered four broken vertebrae. He remained in an induced coma for five days following the collision as doctors treated his injuries.
Miller initially filed his complaint in 2025 against the estate of Dixon and the estate of Dixon’s grandfather, Charles Patterson, who was the registered owner of the vehicle. Toxicology reports revealed that Dixon had a blood alcohol level of 0.195 percent, more than twice California’s legal limit of 0.08 percent. California Highway Patrol investigators determined that both speeding and driver impairment contributed to the fatal crash. The three deceased students all tested positive for cocaine, according to the Alameda County coroner.
The amended complaint alleges that Tesla has been aware of the door failure risk for years. “As the manufacturer and designer of the Cybertruck, Tesla knew of the serious risk of trapping Tesla owners, drivers, and passengers in their electronically powered vehicles for over a decade when involved in a collision,” the lawsuit states. “Despite having been on notice of the many serious injuries and/or fatalities caused by the defective design of their vehicles, including the Cybertruck, Tesla continued to manufacture and sell such dangerous vehicles.”
According to the complaint, Tesla has received reports dating back to 2016 of victims becoming trapped in burning Tesla vehicles when electronic doors failed. Emergency responders frequently encounter difficulties opening Tesla doors after accidents due to the lack of external handles.
The parents of the two other passengers who died in the crash filed their own lawsuit against Tesla in October 2024. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the litigation.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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