New Bloomberg Investigation Ties 15 Deaths to Tesla Door Failures After Crashes
A cabin fills with smoke. Your heart spikes. You grab the door handle and pull. Nothing happens. In that moment, “nice design” stops mattering. Exit does.
That fear is back on the radar because a fresh Bloomberg investigation says at least 15 people have died in U.S. crashes where door function failed, often after severe impacts and fire. Bloomberg stitched the cases together from complaints, lawsuits, public records, and emergency-response material, then published a single count that puts a number on what used to feel like scattered stories.
Rescuers working near wreckage of the Tesla Tragedy, Germany. Credit: WDR.
Why this Bloomberg count matters to you
Modern Teslas lean hard on electronics for latches and handles. After a crash, low-voltage power can drop, and the stuff you expect to work can quit at the worst time. That’s why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into certain Model Y vehicles after reports that exterior door handles became inoperative with low 12-volt battery voltage, including cases where adults couldn’t reopen doors to reach kids in the back seat, as outlined in the agency’s PE25010 investigation document.
Tesla points to manual door releases, and they do exist. The problem is practical: many drivers don’t know where they are, passengers don’t practice using them, and the rear-seat situation varies by model and year. In a calm driveway, you can find a hidden lever. In a post-crash scramble, with an understandably strong sense of panic, you need muscle memory.
Europe has seen the same kind of nightmare. A crash and fire in Germany killed a father and two children after they were reportedly trapped inside a Tesla, a case cited by the European Transport Safety Council as it calls for clearer emergency-opening rules for electrically activated doors.
Don’t doom-scroll this one. Treat exit like a safety system you can control.
Learn the manual door release for your exact vehicle, then teach every regular passenger. If you carry kids, make sure you can reach them fast even if the car loses power. Put a simple window-breaker/seatbelt-cutter tool where your hand naturally lands, not in the trunk. Also take low-voltage battery warnings seriously; this story is a reminder that “small” electrical issues don’t stay small.
My Verdict
If you drive a Tesla, don’t wait for a recall headline to force the lesson. Spend five minutes today mapping your “no power” exit plan. Make sure your entire family knows where the manual overrides are. Practice it once. Then set up one backup way out that doesn’t rely on a touchscreen, a motor, or perfect calm.
You buy a car for freedom. Make sure you can always get out of it.