Model S Door Locked In Fire, Tesla Sued For Death Of 5 Passengers

JAKARTA - Tesla was sued for a tragic accident in Wisconsin that killed five passengers of Model S. The victims were suspected of being trapped in a burning car due to a design defect that made the car door lock and could not be opened.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday, October 31 by four children of Jeffrey Bauer (54) and Michelle Bauer (55) from Crandon, Wisconsin, who died last year after their Model S car got off track and hit a tree in Verona, a suburb of Madison, on November 1, 2024. The couple died the day after the accident.

Reuters reported Tuesday, November 4, according to a lawsuit filed at the Dane County State Circuit Court, the fate of the Bauer pair and other passengers had been locked in the car as the lithium-ion Model S battery pack caused the electronic gate system to fail.

Bauer's children accused Tesla of knowing about this potential failure based on previous fire cases, but did nothing to prevent it from happening again.

The lawsuit explicitly states that "Tesla's design choice creates a very predictable risk: that passengers who survived the accident will remain trapped in a burning vehicle."

Warning And Previous Investigations

Bauer's children also highlighted that the passengers of the Model S rear seat, such as Michelle Bauer, were particularly vulnerable after the accident because they had to lift the carpet to find an emergency-door release metal tab, which was deemed intuitive. A homeowner near the crash site even told 911 that he heard screams from within a Bauer vehicle.

The case comes amid wider scrutiny of Tesla's gate design. In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an investigation into potential defects at several Tesla doors following reports that the door handle could fail.

In addition, Tesla was also sued by the families of two students who died in a Cybertruck accident last November on the outskirts of San Francisco, allegedly locked in a burning vehicle due to the design of its side.

Tesla, based in Austin, Texas and led by Elon Musk, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.