Many people are asking what will come from the widely reported court case for the three Piedmont teens killed by Tesla. Here’s a quick back-of-napkin table of how it fits within many other court cases. Perhaps the pattern displayed clearly here will help victims and their families seek justice for entirely preventable tragedies.
Court Cases of Tesla Deadly Design Defects
| Defect Type | Specific Cases | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Failure to Detect Stationary Emergency Vehicles | Genesis Mendoza Martinez (CA, 2/18/23) Jenna Monet (IN, 12/29/19) Steven Hendrickson (CA, 5/5/21) |
Autopilot failed to recognize and avoid stationary emergency vehicles in roadway or breakdown lane |
| Failure to Recognize Traffic Control Devices | Naibel Benavides (FL, 4/25/19) – $243M verdict Gilberto Lopez (CA, 12/29/19) |
Failed to stop at red lights and stop signs, continuing through intersections at high speed |
| Failure to Detect Other Vehicles | Jovani Maldonado (CA, 8/24/19) Landon Embry (UT, 7/24/22) |
Failed to recognize Ford pickup truck ahead and motorcycle, resulting in collisions |
| Unexpected Steering/Path Departure | Walter Huang (CA, 3/23/18) – Settled | Vehicle veered into center divider while Autopilot was engaged |
| Spontaneous Acceleration | David & Sheila Brown (CA, 8/12/20) | Two separate spontaneous acceleration events causing collisions and fire |
| Failure to Detect Pedestrians | Douglas Mark Taylor (TX, 6/19/20) | Vehicle struck pedestrian in front of home |
| Electronic Door Failure + Possible Acceleration/Brake Defects | Krysta Tsukahara (Piedmont, CA, 11/27/24) Jack Nelson (Piedmont, CA, 11/27/24) Soren Dixon (Piedmont, CA, 11/27/24) |
Cybertruck accelerated from 0 to ~80 mph on residential streets where speeds above 40 mph are impossible under normal conditions. Vehicle traveled less than 4 minutes from Estates Drive/Somerset to crash point on Hampton Road. Accelerator pedal pressed 5 seconds before impact; automatic braking activated at 0.5 seconds before impact with stationary objects. After crash into tree and then retaining wall, electronic doors failed completely, trapping all occupants. Manual releases concealed beneath rubber mats. Witness Matt Riordan broke window with tree branch after 10-15 strikes, pulled survivor Jordan Miller out. Victims had survived the crash impact and were then killed by being trapped in smoke inhalation and burned alive. Seatbelts wouldn’t release. Windows wouldn’t roll down. Trial set February 2027. Tesla pushing blame on driver tests and social media photos to deflect from their own well-known and obvious multiple catastrophic design failures and misleading social media claims. |
| Electronic Door Failure (Schwerte, Germany) | 43-year-old father and two 9-year-old children (9/7/25) | Model S swerved off road, crashed into tree and burst into flames. Bystander Roman Jedrzejewski rushed with fire extinguisher but could not open retractable door handles – they were too hot and wouldn’t extend. “I tried to open the car, but that didn’t work… I didn’t help. It didn’t work.” Father and two children burned to death while trapped. Third 9-year-old child escaped (method unknown) and airlifted to hospital. Firefighters struggled with repeated flare-ups. |
| Electronic Door Failure (Davie, FL) | Dr. Omar Awan, 48-year-old anesthesiologist (2/24/19) | Model S crashed into palm tree. Police officer arrived immediately but door handles were retracted and didn’t “auto-present.” Officer and bystanders unable to open doors. Awan survived crash with no broken bones or internal injuries but died from smoke inhalation as car burned. Battery reignited twice while being towed. Tesla blamed Awan’s speed and toxicology despite door handle failure being documented cause of death. |
| Electronic Door Failure (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Barrett Riley, 18, and Edgar Monserrat Martinez, 18 (5/8/18) | Model S crashed at 116 mph and burst into flames. Bystanders arrived within seconds but couldn’t open doors because handles were flush and didn’t extend. Both teenagers survived airbag deployment with no significant crash injuries but were trapped and burned to death. Third passenger Alexander Berry ejected and survived. Father testified crash was “entirely survivable” – fire killed them, not impact. Jury found Tesla 1% negligent. |
| Electronic Door Failure (Germany) | Laura and Noel, both 18 (8/16/2022) | Automatic door unlocking system failed in crash. Rear doors incapable of being opened from inside or out. Both occupants alive after crash, trapped and burned to death as first responders watched. |
| Electronic Door Failure (Leesburg, VA) | Two occupants (12/9/23) | Model Y crashed and caught fire. Off-duty firefighter unable to open doors, had to smash window and burn himself reaching for concealed manual release. Rescued driver but couldn’t reach passenger. |
Common Tesla Patterns Opposite to Their Marketed “Crash Avoidance”
Tesla BLIND to obvious stationary objects:
- Trees and poles
- Emergency vehicles
- The broadside of huge semi-truck
- Stopped traffic at intersection
CONFIRMED FIRE DEATHS CAUSED BY DOOR DESIGN: ELEVEN
Fatalities due to escape denied during post-crash fire:
- Problem known to Tesla CEO since 2013: “We’ve got quite a fancy door handle, and occasionally the sensor would malfunction”. Claimed “fixed” but deaths continued for 12+ years
- At least 34 documented incidents of Tesla door system failures in lawsuit filings
- Schwerte, Germany (9/7/25): 3 killed – father (43) and two 9-year-old children
- Piedmont Cybertruck (11/27/24): 3 killed – Tsukahara, Nelson, Dixon
- Leesburg Model Y (12/9/23): Firefighter burned trying to access hidden manual release
- Germany (8/16/22): 2 killed – Laura and Noel, both 18
- Davie, Florida (2/24/19): 1 death – Dr. Omar Awan (48)
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida (5/8/18): 2 killed – Barrett Riley (18) and Edgar Monserrat Martinez (18)
- Tesla response: Blame victims entirely in order to distract from its “deathtrap” doors that by design prevent rescue
- Witnesses: Bystanders and first responders arrive immediately but cannot rescue victims due to door design
A lot of people were near the car and we could see the car and I told them, “Please, all of the people should give some distance,” said witness Ariel Craser. […] “I might have witnessed his last moments, if it was a guy or girl, I don’t know. I’m speechless, I don’t even know what to say,” said Barreto.
Notable Court Precedents
Naibel Benavides: $243 million verdict against Tesla (including $200 million in punitive damages) for design defects, and a German court assessment of the Tesla “deathtrap” design.
Piedmont Analysis:
- Distance: Less than 4 minutes to crash
- Speed: 78-82 mph on residential streets (40 mph max normally possible)
- Location: Hampton Road between Sea View and King
- Impact: Front passenger side into large tree (common in Tesla crash reports)
- Rescue: Witness broke “bulletproof” armor glass after 10-15 hits with tree branch
- Sole Survivor: Jordan Miller had seatbelt release issues, serious burns, concussion
- Victims: Conscious and aware, struggling to escape, trapped by doors, burned to death
- Krysta Tsukahara: Heard screaming, tried crawling to broken window, retreated because of fire
- Model: Cybertruck “armor glass” and “exoskeleton” were design decisions marketed as “survival”, yet in fact blocked rescue from outside and prevented survival
- Potential cause: Sudden acceleration 5 seconds before crash, yet brakes activated 0.5 seconds before impact. A combination indicating accelerator and brake design defects, combined with sensor defects, which made door design defects fatal, yet again