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Teslas retractable door handles are being blamed for the death of a man in Florida, who was consumed by a fire in his car when a police officer responding to the incident couldnt get the door open, Automotive News reports.According to the wrongful death lawsuit, 48-year-old anesthesiologist Omar Awan lost control of his leased Tesla in February on a south Florida parkway.The vehicle slammed into a palm tree and burst into flames.When officers arrived, the door handles were retracted, and all they and bystanders could do was watch the car fill with smoke. The cause of death was listed as smoke inhalation; Awan sustained no injuries from the crash.The fire allegedly originated from the batteries, which in a Tesla are below the floor.Fire engulfed the car and burned Dr. Awan beyond recognition all because the Model S has inaccessible door handles, no other way to open the doors, and an unreasonably dangerous fire risk, according to the suit.The handles are supposed to extend when it senses the key fob in the drivers hands, but it doesnt always go so smoothly. In fact, the door handles are one of items most commonly listed as faulty by Tesla Model S owners, according to Consumer Reports.The design of the door handles has been contentious since its inception. Elon Musk insisted on their inclusion despite the fact during development it was unanimous among the executive staff that the complex door handle idea was crazy, according to a former exec speaking with Wired.Tesla has not offered comment on the
Origin: Death in fiery wreck blamed on Tesla’s hideaway door handles

2018 Model X sits on display outside a Tesla showroom.David Zalubowski / AP Photo Tesla Inc. was sued by the family of a man who died as the result of a crash allegedly caused when the Autopilot navigation system of his 2017 Model X malfunctioned. The family of Walter Huang, 38, said in a complaint filed April 26 in California state court that the vehicle, which was sold as a “state-of-the-art” automobile, lacked safety features, such as an automatic emergency braking system. Such features are available on much less expensive vehicles from other carmakers, as well as on more recent Model Xs, Huang’s family said. The family also alleges that Tesla knew, or should have known, “that the Tesla Model X was likely to cause injury to its occupants by leaving travel lanes and striking fixed objects when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner.” The carmaker should have issued a recall or provided a warning “in light of the risk of harm,” the family said in the complaint. Huang died because “Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” B. Mark Fong, a lawyer for the family, said in a statement. “The Huang family wants to help prevent this tragedy from happening to other drivers using Tesla vehicles or any semi-autonomous vehicles.” Huang crashed on the morning of March 23, 2018, while driving on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, when the Tesla Autopilot allegedly turned the vehicle left, straight into the concrete median. He’s survived by his wife, two children, and his parents. The State of California Department of Transportation is also named as a defendant for failing to repair or restore a crash attenuator that had been damaged in a collision a week before Huang’s crash. The case is Huang v. Tesla Inc., 19CV346663, California Superior Court, Santa Clara
Origin: Tesla sued over fatal crash blamed on autopilot navigation error