- A Florida lawsuit filed on October 10 claims the driver of a Tesla Model S died in a crash because the door handles were too difficult to access.
- Tesla released a statement regretting the death but saying, "We understand that speed is being investigated as a factor."
- The Model S has sleek retractable handles that have been the subject of other complaints; Tesla offered a detailed explanation of how to use them in Tesla's 2012–2015 owner guide.
As cool as they may be to some Tesla fans, the unique retractable door handles on the Tesla Model S are being faulted in a lawsuit over the death of a man in Florida. The man, Omar Awan, crashed into a tree in a Model S and was then unable to get out of the electric vehicle when the battery caught fire. The accident and death occurred in February.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in state court in Broward County, Florida, on October 10 claims that Awan was burned beyond recognition "because the Model S has inaccessible door handles, no other way to open the doors, and an unreasonably dangerous fire risk." According to the Bloomberg news service, the suit says the cause of death was smoke inhalation and that Awan did not have any internal injuries or broken bones. The man's family is reportedly seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
Shortly following the accident, Tesla released a statement that said it was saddened by the death and stating, "We understand that speed is being investigated as a factor in this crash, and know that high-speed collisions can result in a fire in any type of car, not just electric vehicles." News reports published about the accident when it happened said Awan was going between 75 and 90 mph when he crashed.
Many Tesla drivers have complained about the Model S's retractable doors. Consumer Reports noted in 2015: "Our car reliability survey shows that doors, locks, and latches are the biggest trouble areas with Teslas and that the Model S has far higher than average rates of such problems." The magazine's own Model S effectively locked people out of the car due to broken handles after just a month.
Tesla declined to comment for this article, but the company's Emergency Response Guide for the 2014–2015 Model S states: "Model S has unique door handles. Under normal conditions, when you press a handle, it extends to allow you to open the door. If door handles do not function, open the door manually by reaching inside the window and using the interior handle." It does not say what to do if the windows are closed. The Guide for 2016 and newer Model S vehicles adds the line, "When an airbag inflates, Model S is designed to unlock all doors, the trunk, and extends all door handles."
The wrongful-death lawsuit says that even when the Model S was towed away from the crash scene, it reignited several times. On the topic of fires, Tesla's emergency guides say: "Battery fires can take up to 24 hours to fully extinguish. Consider allowing the vehicle to burn while protecting exposures." It also tells first responders not to "release the vehicle to second responders until there has been no sign of smoke from the battery for at least one hour."