The parents of a 19-year-old woman who died along with two other teens in a fiery Cybertruck crash last year have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s Tesla, claiming the vehicle’s door handle design prevented their daughter from escaping the burning wreckage.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Carl and Noelle Tsukahara, the parents of Krysta Tsukahara, filed a wrongful death suit against Tesla in Alameda County Superior Court this week. The lawsuit alleges that the EV giant’s Cybertruck model has significant safety issues with its door design, which made it impossible for their daughter to escape the vehicle after it struck a retaining wall and tree before bursting into flames in November 2024.
The fatal crash occurred in Piedmont, California, and also claimed the lives of the Cybertruck’s driver, 19-year-old Soren Dixon, and another occupant, 20-year-old Jack Nelson. A fourth occupant was rescued from the burning vehicle by a witness who used a tree branch to break the window.
According to the 36-page complaint, Tesla’s Cybertruck doors are powered by a 12-volt battery, which can fail during a crash, causing the electronic door mechanism to malfunction. The lawsuit also states that the interior manual release is hidden and difficult to locate, effectively trapping occupants inside the vehicle.
The Tsukaharas’ attorney, Roger Dreyer, described the incident as a “horror story” and accused Tesla of being aware of the issue but failing to address it adequately. “Tesla knows that it’s happened and that it’s going to happen, and they are doing nothing but selling the car with a system that entraps people and doesn’t provide a way of extraction,” Dreyer said in an interview.
The lawsuit cites more than 30 examples of publicized problems with Tesla’s door systems and alleges that Krysta Tsukahara survived the initial crash but was unable to escape due to the electronic door release system’s failure following the loss of power. She ultimately died from smoke inhalation and burns.
The Tsukaharas are seeking unspecified punitive damages against Tesla, accusing the company of negligence and a “conscious disregard” for consumer safety. This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges faced by Tesla, which is also under investigation by federal safety regulators for complaints related to its Model Y SUVs’ door issues.
While the California Highway Patrol investigators determined that impaired driving and speeding were factors in the Piedmont crash, with the victims having alcohol, cocaine, and other substances in their systems, the Tsukaharas’ attorney believes they have a strong case against Tesla. Dreyer anticipates that the company will attempt to shift blame to the driver but maintains that the vehicle should not have “entombed” the occupants, including his clients’ daughter.
Breitbart News reported this month that Tesla is considering a redesign of its door handles due to mounting reports of children becoming trapped in cars when the battery that powers the electronic door handles fails.
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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