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Tesla to pay $329 million for deadly crash
Tesla is set to pay $329 million for a deadly crash involving autopilot. In Augusts, a Miami jury ordered Elon Musk’s car company to pay $329 million to victims of a deadly crash involving its Autopilot driver assist technology.
Tesla is under investigation for potential defects in car doors that reportedly left children trapped in the back seat.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the investigation centers around Tesla’s most popular model.
Why is Tesla under investigation?
What we know:
The NHTSA said it received nine reports of electronic door handles not working properly on 2021 Tesla Model Y SUVs, possibly because of low battery voltage. In four of those cases, parents had to break the windows to get their children out of the car.
Tesla model Y supercharger recharge. (Photo by: Pascal Bachelet/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The incidents appear to occur when the electronic door locks don’t get enough voltage from the vehicle, NHTSA says. Of those who reported incidents, none saw a low voltage battery warning before the exterior door handles stopped working.
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The company has installed manual door releases inside the vehicles but NHTSA says a child may not be able to reach or know how to operate the releases.
What we don't know:
Tesla has not commented on the investigation.
Drivers trapped in Teslas
The backstory:
The investigation comes after numerous reported problems with opening Tesla doors in recent years. In some cases, drivers were trapped in burning vehicles after accidents and a loss of power.
In April, a college basketball recruit said he was "fighting time" trying to get out of his Tesla Cybertruck that had caught fire after he had crashed into a tree and was unable to get the doors open. The University of Southern California player, Alijah Arenas, who was induced into a temporary coma after the accident, said he stayed alive by dousing himself with a water bottle as smoke filled the vehicle.
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Last year, relatives of the driver of a Tesla Model 3 who was trapped in his car and burned beyond recognition sued Musk’s company for negligence and fraud for failing to fix what they called a design flaw in the doors despite what they said were 200 fires involving its cars. The case is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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What's next:
NHTSA said the investigation is only focused on electronic door locks outside of the vehicle, because that’s the only time there’s no way to manually open the door. Separate reports of people being trapped inside will continue to be monitored, the agency said.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press.