Fyi, your seatbelt buckle should be able to smash a window in an emergency
In the US there are nine investigations involving the Tesla Model Y, ranging from “unexpected brake activation” to “sudden unintended acceleration,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nice
Expect those investigations to quietly go away or turn up nothing in about two months from now.
“when a crash disabled its electronic doors.”
Female AI voice: Please stay in your seats with your seat belts on until Elon has been notified of this incident.
Who could see this coming, other than literally everybody
Find a good lawyer and sue the living shit out of Tesla and “Leon.” I agree with the majority of the comments.
what a metaphor for America
Well they don’t say where it was but I’m assuming it’s Canada since a Canada post employee saved one by smashing the window with a big pole so she could crawl out.
It happened in downtown Toronto.
<smashes window> Sorry!
Regardless of where it happened, it’s still an apt metaphor for America
with a bonus nonmetaphorical Musk tie-in.
Killed by the department of efficiency
It’s an apt analogue for what we should all expect from the DOGE; burning to death while everyone watches in terror.
Holy fuck, I never registered that that was the acronym for it.
Yeah, it was the whole point.
When Trump first said that, I wondered why the hell he’s talking about Musk asking for a position title that never existed, and then he tweeted out some BS AI gen of him with the title ‘DOGE’ on a nameplate in front of him.
He basically is a 13 year old who never grew up.
Musk is edgier than some 13 year olds
but isnt the ‘of’ not supposed to be in the acronym otherwise the DMV would be DOMV
We live in hell
Not calling it that, it’s the DGE
It hurts seeing a meme that was fun a decade ago get run into the ground by being used so aggressively and so long and so fucking uncoolly.
This reminds me… I need a glass breaking hammer for safety in my non Tesla car.
They might all have one but if not, get one that has a seat belt cutter on it. And keep it in the front console, not anywhere in the back or in the glove compartment.
I knew someone (an acquaintance, we weren’t close) who died in a crash because their seatbelt got stuck and they couldn’t get out. They had one of those cutter hammer combos but it was in the back seat. Absolutely nightmarish.
My dad was driving a truck full of pigs back in the 70s. He was driving with 2 friends in a very heavy rain. They were crossing a shitty Mexican bridge when they lost traction and went off into the river upside down. The river/channel was narrow so they doors wouldn’t open. They managed to break the windshield and escape. None of the pigs survived. But neither the pigs nor my dad or friends were wearing seatbelts… because Mexico and 1970’s, reasons, etc. I mean the truck was a Datsun and those things did not have seatbelts installed from what I recall.
I ride my bicycle in traffic. I find the differences in our perceived risk profiles funny.
Ah when you try to reinvent the the wheel, fail, and then kill people with it
In my neck of the woods a couple weeks ago five people burned to death in a Tesla. Apparently called 911 from inside the car too. No national news on this either.
In my neck of the woods, four people burned to death in a Tesla last month (news article in French).
I can’t believe there isn’t an NHTSA regulation about manual egress from an unpowered vehicle. This is just bonkers.
Yeah, imagine if the air brakes failed on a transport truck and instead of them defaulting to on, they no longer worked…
Or if your Anti-lock braking system defaulted to no brakes instead of brakes without Anti-lock
Or if the power goes out an elevator just falls to the ground
Or if…
When I rode as a passanger in a Tesla Model 3, the owner told me not to use the big pull handle because it was the manual release, and instead to use the button at the top of the grab bar.
I don’t know about the other models but the manual release was a more obvious way to open the door than the intended way.
There are manual releases but they’re hidden. They need to be more obvious because these cars are rented to people and obviously the owners aren’t taking the time to figure out where they’re at.
I would also think just having secondary power packs in each door would help in the event power is cut to ensure the doors can continue to function for a few minutes while also a speaker could explain how to use the emergency release if none of the doors are working.
All this added complexity and cost isn’t worth it to me, manual doors just make sense for so many reasons.
Or, how about this: it’s a door, have it work like every other car door for the last 70 years.
Redesigning stuff to make it “cool” and “futuristic” is fucking stupid and is clearly not safe. Doors have handles, the handles are pulled to open the door. Keep it simple.
The reason given for hiding them just makes that fact worse. It’s for “aesthetics”. Manual latches don’t look futuristic enough.
In the future nobody reads “the design of everyday things” apparently
In the future nobody reads
“the design of everyday things” apparently
Eject the doors with explosives as soon as the vehicle velocity is zero and fuck everyone else. Tumbler style.
Awesome way to enter the cinema though
Or at a red carpet premier: pull up, doors blast off, step out in style over the mangled bodies of the paparazzi…
Honestly Tesla should be sued over this
The front handles aren’t hidden. They’re so obvious everyone I take in my car tries to use them first if I don’t tell them.
Back doors is a whole other story.
That’s if they have them. Apparently some models of the Y don’t come with manual back door releases.
Back doors is a whole other story.
Thats what this means. The back seats are hit and miss depending on the vehicle.
I thought that was more in reference to the release being hidden under a mat to access. The fact that ‘a whole other story’ could be misconstrued two ways I think just shows how bonkers this is 😂
Ah, I can see how that may have come across like that. My bad.
This is what it says on their website. Hope you’ve got the link handy if you’re in a crash, and also that you’re not in one that doesn’t have this…
make everything electronic because Elon thinks it is super cool
put very inefficiently placed manual overrides because it was a bad idea
Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.
I think I see a problem.
Also: that’s waaaay too many steps for an emergency. Imagine trying to dismantle the door trim when you have a concussion.
Are you kidding meeeee
Look it’s very simple if you get in a crash and are on fire.
Stop. Drop. Roll. Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. Press the red tab to remove the access door. Pull the mechanical release cable forward. Remember that not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors. Die.
Rolls right off the tongue. If you’re still in trouble call 0118 999 88199 9119 725 3.
For english press 1. Your call will be answered in the order it was received.
For regicide, press 3
To return to the main menu, press all of the buttons on your keypad simultaneously.
Remember: To speed up, increase your speed. To decrease your speed, slow down.
Door handles are ugly though.
Worth a few lives to get them out of the way.
This is some “Headphone jacks are ugly” logic here.
No, this is so much worse. Enjoyment function vs aesthetic is a reasonable trade off. Emergency egress vs aesthetic is an insane trade off
And don’t you know how many cents a door handle costs? Christ, we’re not made of money.
“Expensive” is the real issue for Tesla. That’s a couple dollars that can go into Elon’s pockets.
This is what it looks like when they’re legally forced to do something, but still don’t want to do it, and their customers are idiots who can afford to pay for redundant features.
So you know, goverment inefficiency. /s
I hear the new guy in charge of that is a genius!
Realistically they should show the owners at the dealership and make sure they open it several times before taking it off the lot then reinforce it in software and make them release it once a month.
Or you know… just make it mechanical
If I remember right, it damages the car to use the manual door override.
Lawl of course it does.
It used to not lower the window and could damage the window.
Shortly after the 3 was released it was changed. When there is power it lowers the window now.
But if there is no power, it can’t lower the window and it may break.
And what about the passengers? Is the owner going to be required to give an airline attendant “emergency exits are located here” safety speech every time someone hops in the car with them? Can we actually trust them to do so?
Also, not all models have mechanical release mechanisms in the rear doors. There are models where it is 100% possible to just be locked in the back seat. And when you only have ~15 seconds to escape before the lithium flames+smoke cook you, you’re not going to be able to crawl to the front.
Well fuck Tesla. This should be illegal.
It’s so easy! When you get in a crash are panicking and disoriented, who needs a simple quick lever that’s there at all times??? Simply follow these complicated 3 steps to extract yourself from the burning vehicle!
*not available on all models.
Link?
Or they could try a front door, which is much more straightforward
What important living beings go in the back anyway? It’s usually just babies, pets, and children.
Man, I bet those dead kids in the back seat feel so stupid now.
They should’ve just read the owners manual (and hoped their car was equipped with an emergency release) not my fault they’re lazy.
Yeah but mechanical car door handles aren’t “Cool.” You don’t want to have a car that isn’t cool, right?
Some GenZ kids were talking about how cool rolling up a window with a handle was and wished it was in cars again. It was refreshing to hear.
When electric windows became a thing I considered it a downgrade because it meant that I couldn’t roll down my window when the engine was off.
More fancy bits is just more bits to break.
As a 25 year old Gen Z I love my manual window rollers on my 1991 Jeep Cherokee.
I was in a 2024 Cherokee and it was insanely frustrating trying to get the window to where I wanted it.
It also looks absolutely nothing like a Jeep Cherokee. They should just say Jeep SUV on them.
I’m still worried about going over a bridge and not finding a smashy object fast enough.
What fucking idiot builds fail-deadly electric door controls into a very flammable car
Anything owned by Muskrat
There is a manual unlock mechanism, but from what I read it’s rather hidden and not very obvious. Sounds like really bad design to me.
“For god’s sake call customer service!!!”