From the article:

The man is blaming the automaker even though the manual door opener was under his left hand the whole time.

A man in Arizona says that he was recently trapped in his Tesla after getting in, closing the door, and then realizing that his battery was dead. What he didnā€™t know is that the manual release for the door was under his left hand the whole time. Now, heā€™s blaming the automaker and raising awareness.

Rick Meggison, 73, says that Tesla needs to address what he calls a ā€œsafety concernā€ involving how to exit the car when the battery dies. The main door latch actuator on all Tesla models is electronic so if the 12-volt battery dies it wonā€™t work. To ensure safe exit of the vehicle Tesla includes a manual release. Meggison didnā€™t know about that and ended up trapped in his car for 20 minutes on a hot day.

ā€œI couldnā€™t open the doors. I couldnā€™t lower the windows. The computer was dead, so I couldnā€™t open the glove box. I couldnā€™t open anything,ā€ he told ABC7. Of course, he couldā€™ve opened the door in about two seconds had he known that the manual release was just ahead of his window switches. His situation has many wondering whoā€™s to blame in situations like this.

  • Moc@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If a passenger canā€™t figure out how to safety exit a vehicle, that sounds like a design problem.

    • Clent@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yeah. This is pretty cut and dry.

      Opening a car door from the inside shouldnā€™t require special knowledge. It shouldnā€™t require searching.

      The manual release inside a trunk is easier to find.

    • LazaroFilm@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Agreed. Manual opening should be visible and easily used by anyone even if you donā€™t know how Tesla works.