Posted on 10/06/2025 7:05:32 AM PDT by Red Badger
A college student killed in a Tesla Cybertruck crash was trapped inside the vehicle as it burst into flames due to a design flaw involving its doors, a lawsuit has claimed.
Krysta Michelle Tsukahara, a sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design, was one of three who died in the accident in Piedmont, California, last November.
Her parents have alleged that Tesla, run by Elon Musk, knew of the design flaw for years and could have fixed the problem but failed to do so.
Krysta, 19, along with friends Soren Dixon, 19, who was driving, and Jack Nelson, 20, died in the crash after the vehicle hit a tree at high speed and burst into flames. A fourth person was also injured.
Her parents Carl and Noelle Tsukahara originally filed a lawsuit going after the automaker in April, before filing an amended wrongful death suit this week.
The 36-page complaint claims that their daughter, who was sitting in the back of the car, suffered minor injuries but when the vehicle's battery caught fire she died from burns and smoke inhalation.
The doors of the vehicle are battery powered and can fail if the vehicle loses power.
The suit says Krysta was unable to escape the inferno due to the manual release on the door being too difficult to find.
According to the suit, the teenager 'suffered unimaginable pain and emotional distress', due to being stuck in the rear of the vehicle as it burned.
Her father spoke with The New York Times, who first reported on the suit, saying his daughter would still be alive had it not been so difficult to get out.
He also spoke with KTVU Fox 2, adding: 'Krysta was a bright, kind, and accomplished young woman with her whole life ahead of her.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“...wealthy student...”
Some of the most expensive homes in California are in the city of Piedmont.
THanks for posting those details. The absolute indifference even outright hostility towards the students who died from so many here is appalling. Whether Musk knew of the flaw can be settled by the court if it comes to that.
But the fact remains that an exit which should be a easy to find, easy to operate, and readily available during an emergency was not. It is even suppose to meet those conditions when a person is not at full capacity. So speculation about whether the students were drunk is moot. Driving recklessly is wrong but no one should die like these students did.
Is it possible he read the manual and forgot the instructions? Or panicked?
It’s hard to find the manual door handle when you’re high on life...oh and cocaine, Jack Daniels and “other substances”.
(after the vehicle hit a tree at high speed and burst into flames)
“Oak tree you’re in my way.”
Oak tree, you're in my way...
Boy was that a long time ago
There is a current battle in Europe to allow or disallow the cyber truck there.
Regulations are basically the same between us and the EU (which is why all cars look the same, basically) the US is allowing a TON of constant disregard for the law while the EU is not.
Take Uber for instance. Totally illegal.
These articles are making prominent rounds throughout by those who do not want the ridiculously dangerous cyber truck. I tend to agree.
In the 70s we had the Bricklin SV1. The “safety vehicle” had doors actuated by hydraulic rams (many replaced them with pneumatic) that could allow passengers to get out should the car flip over. However, if the hydraulic system failed that same pressure would keep passengers in the car. The Rams were behind the seats too close together to squeeze through and the windows were to small for many to get out.
A few people died in this condition.
I never knew...
The Inspiration
Gary Rossington’s Car Crash: The song was directly prompted by guitarist Gary Rossington’s 1976 car accident, where he crashed his Ford Torino into an oak tree while under the influence of alcohol and Quaaludes.
They were probably dead on impact..................
Likely drunk ... yes. But the back door release isn't just a lever. You have to pull up the rubber piece in the bottom of the door pocket and then pull a release cable. Stupid design.
Maybe that was the Torino from ‘Vacation’:
“You go half a block down the street......and you’ll see a Torino with no wheels on it.”
Met a guy with a 429 Super Cobra Jet Torino
He had just sold it but it was still in his garage
It was like new but I saw it in the late 1970s
Maybe. Autopsies would prove or disprove that.
The kid chose to drive while drunk and on drugs. They’re lucky they didn’t kill anyone else.
Wealthy children?
White Punks On Dope !
Dixon’s autopsy also confirmed the presence of 180 nanograms of cocaine and 55 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood at the time of the crash.
Daughter shouldn’t have being hanging around with a drunken dope fiend !
Sorry folks she fooled around and found out.
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