Tesla hit with another lawsuit after fatal Cybertruck crash: 'Catastrophic design defects'

Tesla is reportedly facing a number of lawsuits that allege design flaws in its Cybertruck led to fatal crashes.

What's happening?

Fuel Arc reported that Cybertrucks have twice been involved in crashes in which the truck caught fire, the doors were unable to be opened, and the occupant or occupants died. In each case — the latest filed in October, according to the Guardian — a wrongful-death lawsuit was filed against the electric vehicle maker.

The lawsuits, stemming from 2024 crashes in California and Texas, allege that, when the Cybertrucks lost power, the manual overrides to open the doors were not easily accessible, essentially trapping people inside.

"This case arises from catastrophic design defects in the Tesla Cybertruck that turned a survivable crash into a fatal fire," one of the California complaints reads.

The Texas crash resulted in the death of the driver. Three young people were killed in the California collision, with a fourth rescued after a witness broke one of the windows with a tree branch.

"The Cybertruck's design made it nearly impossible to open the doors once electrical power was lost," the Texas lawsuit reads.

Why is this important?

This has been a bad year for the Cybertruck.

Once a headline-maker solely for its unique, futuristic look, the truck has been recalled a number of times, and sales dipped so low that some insurance companies no longer cover the vehicle.

But, of course, those issues pale in comparison to allegations that design flaws led to deaths. The central issue in these cases is the truck's doors, which — like other Tesla vehicles — feature exterior handles that are flush with the body and operate electronically.

The plaintiffs accuse Tesla of having not made a functioning, easily accessible emergency release to open the Cybertruck if it loses power.

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What's being done about this?

The Cybertruck isn't Tesla's only model that has raised safety concerns.

In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into 2021 Model Ys, citing complaints the agency received about the door handles. The NHTSA has received even more complaints since announcing that investigation, with people again alleging they were unable to open their doors after their Teslas lost power.

New regulations in China may force the company to redesign the handles — at least within that country — a move that Tesla's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, said "makes a lot of sense."

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