Posted on 10/24/2019 3:40:43 PM PDT by fruser1
A doctor in Florida burned to death because the battery in his Tesla burst into flames and the car's futuristic door handles wouldn't allow a police officer to rescue him, according to a legal complaint.
Dr Omar Awan died in February after his Tesla hit a palm tree.
...part of the design of the Tesla Model S is to retract the door handles into the car and they then "auto-present" and pop out when the car's key fob is detected nearby.
However, the handles malfunctioned and people were not able to open the doors
Dr Awan had no broken bones or other injuries resulting from the crash.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
“The Model S is an amazing car.”
My Model 3 Performance is the most incredible piece of American engineering that I have ever purchased.
We just got a firmware update giving us 5% more power. My estimate is that i’m pushing 540 HP with this when including the last one that gave us about 8% more in May.
Whats not to like for a conservative.
Made in USA with a respectable US made content. My brother in laws company makes the review mirrors.
Non - Union
Probably a net exporter - Europe and Asia are eating em up.
Leading the next tech revolution over stolen/subsidized Chinese crap. The Chinese would LOVE to dominate in this area.
Wake to a full tank every morning(for me about 250 miles of real world fun, lead foot miles)
Batteries that should last 300,000 to 500,000 still giving 70-80% of original charge near end of life.
Wiper blades and tires only regular maintenance.
Downsides.
Mechanic careers - I feel for that personally with friends in this field.
Made in California.
Neck hurts though - a lot.
Breitbart doesn’t like Elon.
There are a number of scenarios that would trap you inside your car- especially if you don’t have manual windows. I helped to extract a woman from a burning car- it’s a good idea to have something to break the glass, a spark plug would do.
What’s important is that he SENT A MESSAGE to those planet-killing Fascists who insist on still driving fossil-fuel cars. I’m sure his family will agree that, overall, it was a SMALL price to pay, to SEND A MESSAGE, which, hopefully, will get through now.
Failure Mode:
Battery overheats, catches fire.
RPN 10
Remedy:
Sense over-current and/or excessive thermal pre-compromise, open all doors automatically.
Either way, set off alarms exterior and interior.
Prompt customer to exit vehicle.
Haptic seat pulses, horn activation, audio warnings...
Tesla is going down.
“250 miles”
How much does running heater/ac impact range?
“Maybe break the window with your baton and pull the driver out?”
It takes, like, 4 weeks, to get any body work repairs on those cars (due to waiting on parts). The cops probably figured they were doing the right thing to minimize damage to the vehicle.
Many of the vehicles built in the last 4 years or so have gone back to using laminated glass on the side windows (like the windshield) instead of tempered glass. Once you get a hole punched in laminated glass it can be cut with a sawzall type blade.
“Lawsuit city”
If my door is locked, the outside handle won’t open the door.
Same for cars for decades. duh ... you break a window!
“Otherwise, fears about the vehicle becoming a death trap would tank their sales.”
That only applies to the IDIOTS who actually drive the car. The vast majority of Tesla buyers simply leave them plugged in and show them to their ‘friends’ as a way to HOLD THEIR NOSES UP to the polluters of the planet.
Those who actually risk it all and drive those jalopies know that they’re putting it all at risk.
250 is accounting for that - rated at 310.
Maybe 200 in the worst of winter. We have an SUV we would take if needing a road trip.
see https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/dear-car-talk/where-have-all-vent-windows-gone
Car Talk guys said with a.c. now the companies don’t need to keep people cool by windows and also the exact aerodynamic design for fuel economy is ruined when the vents are open.
An old—great-—lost idea:
My 1967 Plymouth Valiant had a lever on the lower left that opened two interior outside air vents past your legs on the sides under the dash area. Wonderful cool breeze came through.
“If Tesla was smart, they would recall all the cars and change out the doors. Otherwise, fears about the vehicle becoming a death trap would tank their sales. “
If you were trapped in YOUR car with doors locked rescuer couldn’t open the door via the handle!
You are driving a deathtrap!
I drive a Model S, and it’s sure as hell no jalopy. Where did you get that nonsense about Tesla owners? I’m surprised you’re able to post on FR, what with your head being so far up your ass...
“Elon Musk is mega-rich fool. He’s going to lose all his investors money soon enough.”
Actually he is BRILLIANT. He knows full well that there is a HUGE MARKET for people who need to SEND A MESSAGE to others that they ‘care’. And he knows, full well, that very few people actually buy those cars to drive. Instead they buy them TO SEND A MESSAGE to the Climate Change deniers, and for that, the cars do not actually have to operate.
This thread begins with this comment from the poster: "Another great design decision. Make doors that can't unlock manually."
THAT STATEMENT IS FALSE. According to autoblog.com, the doors do unlock manually from the inside if you just pull the lever all the way.
As for permitting a locked car to be unlocked from the outside, that would defeat the purpose of the locks. A first responder should break a window.
For others, here is the link again:
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/02/28/tesla-fiery-crash-closer-look-door-locks/
The interior mechanism is essentially a traditional-style door release pull with two stops. The first stop triggers an electronic door release, and opens the door. Open to full extension, and a mechanical door release operates, even if there's a loss of power — it isn't confusing to operate.
There’s an ink pin made to star and break a window for use in a situation of trying to exit a vehicle. My problem with any options is keeping cool, thinking this needs to be done, and doing it. In the river, in the fire, under fire, it is a life threatening event. It’s not what most people including me think about a lot. Risk assessment and reactions under stress require quick thought. Not easy. Now apply those thoughts with the NYFD and all their training. Think they looked at the towers and thought they were going home at end of shift? Things happen fast, got to try to be prepared. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.
“Doesn’t the Tesla have a manual door latch inside like the C7 Corvette?”
What are you, a LUDDITE or something. There is NO NEED to have such ‘low-tech’ crap, when so many other options are available (like touch screens).
“Maybe 200 in the worst of winter. We have an SUV we would take if needing a road trip.”
Not that a road trip in the Tesla is all that painful with the super charge network. Got a deal with 2 yrs free charging for that.
We just rarely do road trips. Rather fly.
Lithium battery fires are insanely hot like many chemical fires. The cop likely had very little time to try to get to the guy before the heat and toxic fumes drove him away. Jeez. Horrible for the doctor and the cop will probably have nightmares for a long time.
Thanks, Elon.
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