Summary

A Tesla Cybertruck crashed in Piedmont last November, killing three college students after hitting a cement wall and bursting into flames.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) attributed the crash to intoxication and high speed but found that the victims likely died from the fire.

Testimony revealed the vehicle’s doors would not open after the crash, preventing rescue attempts. A survivor was pulled out after a bystander broke a window with a tree branch.

The CHP’s investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

  • rational_lib@lemmy.world
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    But when he attempted to pull Tsukahara from that same window, Riordan testified, “I grabbed her arm to try and pull her towards me, but she retreated because of the fire.”

    Remember that the right wing media rushed to blame this on speeding and intoxication without mentioning that they were still alive and able to move when the vehicle was on fire. They were cooked alive inside, foreseeably and preventably, and that was covered up in a way that maximized the shame the victims’ families felt. Deplorable.

    • lori@lemmy.zip
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      The Cybertruck fans have basically just decided that because one of them was a drunk driver they don’t need to think about the rest of it and it’s fine that they died.

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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    This is propaganda, opening a cybertruck door is very easy.

    First you bring up the “doors” menu on the console. Then tap “right door” to get to the right door sub menu. Then tap “open”. If you get error “tsla3456” that means the truck is on fire. Normal cars don’t recognize when they’re on fire, this is a smart thing done by smart people at Tesla. So then you just go back to the “doors” menu, tap “right door” again, then “advanced” and then “overrides”. Enter the error number you want to ignore in the “ignore errors” item. Now you go back to “doors”, “right door” and tap “open” and the door will open easily.

    Tesla even offers a free “door opening” course that’s just 2 hours long to go over all of the options you have for opening your cybertruck doors. It’s really the victims fault if they didn’t bother to learn how to use their vehicle.

    /s I fear this is needed …

      • Lem Jukes@lemm.ee
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        i’m sorry for my rudeness, but i think that’s a skill issue. Give it a couple more seconds of thought and realizing a shitty door locking mechanism/system faulting and not deliberately convoluted menu programming is pretty clearly the reason for the door failure.

        you know i started that reply and then i found that NHTSA’s staff has already been cut by 4% cause DOGE(pronounced “dough - ghee”) and now im like yeah actually this might be the kind of thing that gets thru regulators now…

        PS mods, if the skill issue comment is a rule breaker i can remove it, pwease dont ban me again for ‘attacking the person and not the argument’.

    • tazeycrazy@feddit.uk
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      If you follow these instructions you would be dead within minutes! Tsla3456 is for water Tsla3356 is for fire You would know this if you did the advanced fire safety course for $450. It was the only thing I heard about a the basic door course.

      • madjo@feddit.nl
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        Also be true in your typing as there’s no backspace option on the keyboard.

      • Tuukka R@sopuli.xyz
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        Water in a Tesla results with fire, though, which is why the Tsla3456 is nothing but an alias for Tsla3356.

  • Siegfried@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Well, say what you want, but tesla is the only one doing something to reduce the republican voters base.

    • JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world
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      That’s not true! Their battery suppliers play a big role in ensuring there’s just enough contamination to get through inspect and still catch fire!

  • Jimius@lemmy.ml
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    “after a bystander broke a window with a tree branch” Ah yes, the bulletproof windows that could double as submergible windows for an unspecified amount of time at an unspecified depth.

    • melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      it’s a fun little inversion of the first gas chambers, where the nazis kill themselves with cars that pointedly don’t make CO2

      edit: who ever said that hope is dead?

    • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com
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      The Highway Patrol’s investigation into a November Cybertruck crash

      Were they supposed to know that with their time machine or divine it through the occult?

        • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com
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          MAGA idiot: sure.

          Nazi years ago: name high profile headlines years ago that would have made that apparent to the casual public, and not only to obsessive social media dwellers heaping constant attention on his every move. Until the double Nazi salute, I doubt most people had any idea.

            • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com
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              Not exactly a prominent headline & I don’t see a transcript. The 16-page sources documents links to online references including of a large number of tweets, several articles not regarding Musk, and some news articles on Musk. This is quite a bit to wade through. It’d be better to name clear, prominent headlines as I suggested before. Nonetheless, I’ll glance through.

              The articles I’ve glanced through cover his descent into right-wing extremism on X, suspensions of journalists’ accounts, overtures to Putin & Trump. They cover criticism by advertisers & special interests of Musk’s tolerance for the spread of hate speech on X. There was that episode when Musk agreed with a post making a veiled reference to the antisemitic Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which led to denunciations by the ADL, advertisers pulling out, and Musk responding by posting objections to antisemitism & to organizations that push “racism of any kind” and by paying visits to Israel & Auschwitz.

              Most of these could be construed as forgettable online MAGA mayhem. While that last episode drew headlines, rather than pin Musk down as a Nazi, a casual observer could easily discount it as online outrage over a MAGA idiot who falls for conspiracy bullshit & rolls that back. They could do that right before they easily forget it.

              I don’t deny the conduct is troubling. However, these online distractions don’t exactly make memorable, prominent headlines that conclusively pin Musk down as a Nazi to the casual public. They don’t capture the public’s attention as clearly as Musk’s double Nazi salute.

              If you could point out such a headline that the people in the collision would have known before they purchased the vehicle, then I’d concede your point, but at the moment I don’t see it.

              • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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                Here’s one from 2023. I think this is the one you were talking about.

                https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/17/business/elon-musk-reveals-his-actual-truth/index.html

                I feel like when I said, “Elon has been a public Nazi for a few years now,” what you heard was, “the general public has known Elon is a Nazi for a few years now.”

                Yes, maga idiots have excused his behavior for years, but that doesn’t mean people haven’t been calling him out as a Nazi for those same years because of his obviously Nazi like behavior. The Hitler salute was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, where the general public started to recognize that he is a Nazi. The swastikar didn’t go on sale until after much of this behavior had already been very public, so if you have a Model 3, you may have an excuse, but if you have a Cyberdump, you have no excuse.

                Also, it’s just a fucking awful truck. If you’re going to buy a truck, buy a truck, not a vaguely truck shaped vehicle that can’t do what trucks do.

                • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com
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                  Yes, that piece refers to the same event.

                  I feel like when I said, “Elon has been a public Nazi for a few years now,” what you heard was, “the general public has known Elon is a Nazi for a few years now.”

                  Were you trying to imply moral culpability for people “buying their own coffin from a Nazi” or not? Moral culpability only works if they reasonably would have known, so that “buying it” is a choice eligible for moral consideration.

                  If you’re merely observing the situation without moral consideration to point out gee, that’s ironic, then I’m forced to agree: that is ironic. However, you seem to be claiming more than that with the word excuse.

                  if you have a Model 3, you may have an excuse, but if you have a Cyberdump, you have no excuse

                  Thus, for your claim to work they had to be aware, and since we know nothing about them, we can only reasonably expect they knew if the general public knew. So, I don’t think I misunderstood you.

                  Yes, maga idiots have excused his behavior for years

                  Excused? No, they do the same and have for years. Feeding into Nazi conspiracy theories & agreeing with Nazis is typical MAGA behavior.

                  Remember Pizza Gate & the adrenochrome conspiracy? Both have roots in old antisemitic conspiracies of Jews consuming the blood of sacrificed children, though I doubt MAGA conspiracists know that.

                  Musk had a firm reason to know he was agreeing with a Nazi: the tweet he agreed with was answering a challenge for “cowards” posting “Hitler was right” to explain themselves. Even so, agreeing with Nazi conspiracies doesn’t amount to essentials that define Nazi: white supremacy, advocating for genocide & an ethnostate, etc. It doesn’t surprise me that people often see it as more MAGA idiocy similar to Trump saying both sides include “some very fine people”.

                  until after much of this behavior had already been very public

                  I agree it was public. I also submit that the general public probably saw it as MAGA instead of Nazi if they paid attention at all.

                  When people shop for a car, the company’s CEO may not be their top consideration if any. In the case of a Cyberflop, they may be looking at the environment, self-driving features, or fall for marketing gimmicks & believe they’re buying the greatest innovation.

                  Also, it’s just a fucking awful truck.

                  Totally. For that alone, they deserve all the blame for getting that deathtrap.

                  Let’s just forget this minor disagreement. That car’s a piece of shit. Fuck that car.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    But the boycott is still “illegal”, you guys.

    Remember when Failin’ Palin was bleating about “death panels”?

  • MagicShel@lemmy.zip
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    There are cameras inside the car, it self drives… imagine if it used AI to decide if the driver was Jewish. Or queer. Or just a particular individual who might be thrown out a window were they in Russia. And it steered itself into a wall and burst into flames, destroying any internal telemetry that might tell the story.

    The technology is there. The regulatory agencies that might investigate are gutted. There is nothing but the integrity of a few programmers standing in the way. Programmers whose livelihoods and perhaps admission to the US are at stake.

    That feels awfully thin.

    There’s a fucking conspiracy theory for the nutters.

    • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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      imagine if it used AI to decide if the driver was Jewish. Or queer. Or just a particular individual who might be thrown out a window were they in Russia. And it steered itself into a wall and burst into flames, destroying any internal telemetry that might tell the story.

      That’s basically how the plot of Upload kicks off, and when I realized “holy crap, that’s totally possible”.

      • upandup@sh.itjust.works
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        You’re the only other person I have ever heard mention that they had watched that show. I liked it. I thought it was decent, but nobody else seemed to.

        • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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          Oh, I think it’s great. Can’t wait till season 4 drops. Definitely an underrated show especially if you like near future, corporate dystopia black comedies. There’s also the meta humor that it runs on Amazon Prime Video.

          • upandup@sh.itjust.works
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            Oh, I thought it was canceled. The last season I saw was season two. I should check out season three!

            • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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              AFAIK, it’s not canceled. It just goes forever between 10-episode seasons that always end on a cliffhanger.

              Edit: Ah, the upcoming fourth season is the final one.

              • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
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                Four seasons is a pretty good run for this type of show, IMO; at least if it’s as well planned and thought out as The Good Place (not to dissimilar concept) was!

                I think I’m also only around ~2 seasons in, as I cancelled Prime a while back… might have to fly the black flag and catch up on S03!

        • criticon@lemmy.ca
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          Another good one with a related theme of technology morality is Made For Love, I think it’s from Max

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            Yes, now Made for Love was great. Way better than Upload imo.

            Damn, I really forgot that show existed until just now…

        • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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          I don’t even recall how I heard of it, lol, but it’s really good. Definitely one of those hidden gems in the sea of crap-quality streaming shows.

          • Upgrayedd1776@lemmy.world
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            If you can get over the weird color saturation thing, it wasnt good enough for me to have that bizarre super bright reds and pinks

      • afronaut@lemmy.cafe
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        Very underrated film. I saw it in theaters and thought everyone was gonna go crazy for it then barely heard anyone talk about it.

    • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
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      There are cameras inside the car, it self drives… imagine if it used AI to decide if the driver was Jewish. Or queer.

      How would a camera determine if you are queer?

      Also, I am just imagining the piles of blackmail material Tesla has on it’s customers.

      • MagicShel@lemmy.zip
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        AI. I didn’t say it would do a good job, lol. It’s a conspiracy theory. It doesn’t have to make sense, it just needs to be barely plausible.

    • Chozo@fedia.io
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      I don’t think that a lot of the people who would be likely targets for such an attack are the same people who would be buying Teslas in the first place.

      • MagicShel@lemmy.zip
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        They might well already have Teslas. They are far more likely to drive them (I think) than the good old boys out in the country.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        The glass is not bullet resistant. The doors barely qualify, if they don’t have to stand up to an actual firefight.

        • Sludgeyy@lemmy.world
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          Resistant

          There is no guarantee to stop even a small caliber

          Small caliber at high velocity would go straight through

          You could say a thick metal wall is small caliber bullet proof because no matter what velocity, the small chunk of metal is never passing through a few decimeters of solid metal.

          Small caliber piercing round at high velocity, straight through the stainless steel door.

          Slap some plastic on that bad boy

          You’d really trust that as a bullet shield?

          Normal 9mm across the street. Probably going through

          • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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            There are plenty of videos out there showing it stopping repeated 9mm bullets. But you’re right, the velocity will also come into play.

            • Sludgeyy@lemmy.world
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              Yeah, I watched one from official Tesla youtube where the guy shot it with a bunch of stuff.

              It did stop the 9mm with the rounds they chose

              The buck shot pierced the door and cracked the window because it was rolled down.

              Buck shot is smaller caliber with higher velocity.

              I need to find a video of someone trying to get a 9mm bullet to go through it rather than basically a paid advertisement.

              • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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                This one is recent and it does various calibers / velocities

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufoLITv26R4

                it did stop a subsonic and supersonic 9mm. The supersonic one was pretty close to going through though, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he did a dozen or so if one would have.

                The shots that ripped the metal instead of piercing through it were pretty wild.

  • Baguette@lemm.ee
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    Reminder that a seatbelt cutter and glass breaker is a good investment, especially in cars like this.

  • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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    But there’s emergency latches!

    They’re just hidden somewhere in the doors and you need the owner’s manual to figure out where they are…

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    Not suggesting anything of course, but Trump just bought himself a Tesla and if he really really wanted to help Musk improve Tesla’s image…

    • NotLemming@lemm.ee
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      1. Elon musk is very rich.
      2. Elon musk is doing favours for the cult leader who is also president
    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      Well, the government organization that allowed consumers to complain, get the money back along with a settlement, and have the product recalled, was recently “fed into a wood chipper” by the guy who makes the cybertrucks.

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      Are they saying the doors were not damaged and still didn’t open? I could see the doors being damaged and resulting in them not opening. I’m sure that’s common.

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        The doors use a push button mechanism to open. There’s no handle, no place to grip, nothing. You tap a button, that opens the door. Meaning if the internal electronics have been messed up, congratulations, that door isn’t opening.

        • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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          You can open the door by basically disassembling it and pulling on a cord, but nobody knows how to do that

          • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            Someone outside of the vehicle cannot access this cord. Unconscious or disoriented passengers are fucked.

            • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
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              Someone outside of the vehicle should be either calling an ambulance or grabbing the jaws of life and telling the door it doesn’t have a choice in the matter.

      • lori@lemmy.zip
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        If the Cybertruck gets water into the door (y’know, like from rain) it’s pretty common for the doors to also just open themselves whenever the fuck.

        It’s amazing what’s common with these trucks, I recommend everyone read the Cybertruck Owners Forum.

  • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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    Why are these cars even allowed to be purchased? Does America not have road safety standards? Can anyone just make a car and as long as it has headlights and seatbelts sell it to people?

    • real_squids@sopuli.xyz
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      It got 5 NHTSA stars for driver safety, 4 for passenger, anyone caught outside of it are acceptable casualties. And as far as I know the manufacturer can self-certify.

    • Aganim@lemmy.world
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      While you are burning remember alive, please take the time to appreciate the fact that the Cybertruck has a 5-star NHTSA crash rating.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      Regulatory capture. For the most part, Automakers can determine if their vehicle is safe, as long as they have certain hardware requirements (Like airbags, backup cameras, and a roof that can support the weight of the vehicle.) Heck, I remember some Tesla engineer saying that the mirrors are only on the truck because they couldn’t get the legislation mandating them removed in time to replace them with cameras.

    • BossDj@lemm.ee
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      Were still kinda being held together by pre-1970s protections, but those are slowly going away, too

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        When it comes to people inside the car, they’re incredibly good. There are lots of cars you can buy in Europe and Japan that wouldn’t even try meeting US safety standards.

        That is, until some jackass decided on putting too many gizmos in a car without thinking about how you open the door while the battery is on fire. And is currently dismantling the parts of government that tell you not to do that.

        Those standards also don’t do much for people outside the car. Beyond Tesla, that’s been the real tragedy of US safety standards over the past few years.

        • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          Even inside the car isn’t great, just look at allowing electronic door latches, and giant touchscreens that distract you while driving.

    • lori@lemmy.zip
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      Well we have some standards …like they forced Musk to put mirrors on the Cybertruck, because Elon wanted to make it without mirrors and just use cameras.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      Our safety agency actually rejected the headlights that turn off around other cars, in favor of LED lights that blind the fuck out of everyone no matter what setting you use.

      That tells you everything you need to know about American “safety”.