Main points
- The mother of a 20-year-old driver who died in a crash has filed a lawsuit against Tesla over the locked electronic door handles that prevented her son from getting out of the burning car.
- The lawsuit accuses Tesla of negligence and cites at least 15 deaths since 2016 due to malfunctions or peculiarities of the electronic handles, which has drawn the attention of regulators.
Lawsuit against Tesla after death of driver in Model Y / Jpeg
Another lawsuit has been filed against Tesla in the US over electronic door handles that the plaintiffs claim can lock people inside the car after a crash. This time, it concerns the death of a 20-year-old driver who was unable to get out of a burning Model Y.
The mother of 20-year-old Samuel Tremblett has filed a lawsuit against Tesla after her son died in a crash that occurred on October 29, 2025 in Easton, Massachusetts. According to the case file, the Tesla Model Y crashed into a tree, then caught fire, and the driver was trapped inside. This is reported by The Verge .
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Court documents include a recording of a call to emergency services in which Tremblett pleaded for help, saying: ” I can't breathe. It's burning. Help. Please. I'm going to die .” He could not be saved.
The lawsuit centers on Tesla's electronic door handles , which are flush with the body to improve aerodynamics and open electronically. The plaintiffs say the system prevented the driver from leaving the car after a crash.
This is not the first such case. The lawsuit cites at least 15 deaths since 2016 , when people died in Tesla cars after being unable to get out due to malfunctions or peculiarities of the electronic handles.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, accuses Tesla of recklessly and grossly negligently designing, manufacturing and selling dangerously defective vehicles. The lawsuit also quotes Elon Musk from a 2018 conference call, where he said Tesla is uncompromisingly focused on safety and strives to build the safest cars in the world.
According to Techbuzz , the problem of electronic handles has already attracted the attention of regulators. In China, such solutions were recently banned , recognizing them as dangerous, and obliged automakers to use mechanical handles. In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating numerous complaints from Tesla owners, including cases where children were locked in cars.
Although Tesla cars are equipped with manual emergency door release mechanisms , the regulator notes that not all passengers, especially children, are able to use them in an emergency. The company said it is working on a new design that would combine electronic and mechanical mechanisms into a single button.
A Bloomberg investigation previously uncovered more than 140 reports in the U.S. since 2018 of Tesla doors getting stuck. The new lawsuit could increase pressure on the company and speed up regulatory decisions about door designs.