A tragic accident in Germany has claimed the lives of a Tesla driver and two children after their vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire. According to local police, emergency responders were unable to open the car’s electronic doors in time to rescue the victims.
The incident occurred on September 7, when the car burst into flames following the crash. The victims included a 43-year-old man and two 9-year-old children. A third child, also 9, managed to escape the burning vehicle and was airlifted to a hospital with injuries. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Roman Jedrzejewski, who owns a paint shop near the crash site, ran to help after witnessing the accident.
“I grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran over,” Jedrzejewski told local media outlet Ruhr News. “I tried everything — the car was already burning, but one side wasn’t fully engulfed yet. I just couldn’t get the doors open.”
Visibly emotional, he added, “I really wanted to save them. Damn it, I didn’t help. It didn’t work.”
Tesla vehicles feature electronic doors that open via retractable handles or interior buttons rather than traditional latches. However, in the event of a crash, the vehicle’s power system can fail, potentially rendering these mechanisms inoperable. Although Tesla includes manual interior door releases, they may be difficult for children to locate or use during an emergency.
Concerns about the safety of Tesla’s door design have been growing. In April 2024, Germany’s automobile association, the ADAC, warned that retractable handles could pose a risk in emergencies. More recently, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into approximately 174,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles from the 2021 model year following reports of door handle malfunctions.
This isn’t the first such tragedy. In 2023, four people died in Toronto when their Tesla crashed and caught fire, and rescuers were unable to open the doors, according to the CBC.
Investigations into the recent crash in Germany are ongoing.