🔗 Share this article

Tesla is being sued by the parents of another victim who died during a Cybertruck crash in the peaceful community of Piedmont, California. This marks the second lawsuit brought against the automotive company within the past few days alleging a design flaw in their electric truck is responsible for the fatalities of the passengers caught in the crash, according to court filings.

Allegations of Pre-Existing Flaws

The parents of Jack Nelson assert that the corporation which assisted Elon Musk become the world’s richest man knew about the flaw for years and could have moved faster to resolve the defect but did not, trapping the occupants trapped amid flames and smoke that eventually killed them.

"This case arises from severe manufacturing flaws within Tesla's electric truck that turned a survivable crash into a fatal fire," reads the complaint, which was filed on Thursday in Alameda county superior court.

Second Similar Lawsuit

A similar suit was filed against Tesla recently by the family of Krysta Tsukahara, who also perished in the accident. The 19-year-old Tsukahara, and Nelson, 20, were traveling in the back of the electric vehicle late last year, with one other passenger and the driver. The vehicle collided with a tree at high speed and ignited into flames, as detailed in an official traffic incident document.

Fatal Conditions

Once the electrical supply to the vehicle's doors was shuttered by the fire, the occupants became trapped within without any means of escape. The driver also died. The remaining occupant was extracted from the vehicle after a rescuer broke a window.

"These four individuals in the Cybertruck were close friends and remarkable people, all poised to making meaningful contributions to society," the Nelson parents declared publicly. "They all suffered of Tesla’s unsafe design. Their deaths and injuries have deeply affected all who knew them."

Government Probe

The new legal threats facing Tesla follow shortly after federal transportation authorities opened an investigation regarding the automaker about its electric door handles, which are built to be flush with the body of the vehicle.

The agency is also looking into reports from vehicle owners indicating that after exiting their cars, they were unable to access rear doors to get their children out and, in some cases, had to break the window to reach them.

Recurring Safety Concerns

The vehicle's door mechanisms have been at the center of multiple accident-related legal cases because the battery powering the unlocking mechanism can be destroyed in a fire and the manual releases that bypass the electronic system are difficult to find.

"The emergency manual override for the vehicle's doors was concealed beneath the interior storage compartment at the bottom of the door – hidden, unlabeled, and impractical to locate or operate amid smoke and chaos of a post-crash fire," explained the family. "Consequently, the Cybertruck’s design left Jack and the other occupants with no practical way to escape."

Previous Legal Precedents

These electric truck legal cases come after multiple instances which have alleged various safety problems with Tesla cars. In August, a court in Florida ruled that Tesla must pay millions in restitution to the relatives of a young adult who was killed in an accident involving their car using the autonomous driving feature.