Second Lawsuit Alleges Design Flaw in Cybertruck Crash
Tesla faces a second lawsuit in a week over the fatal Piedmont, California Cybertruck crash, as the parents of a second victim join the legal battle with similar allegations of a dangerous design flaw. The complaint, filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday by Jack Nelson’s parents, contends that a latent defect left occupants trapped and unable to escape as a fire engulfed the vehicle.
Lawyers for the Nelson family argue that the company and its engineers knew about the flaw for years and could have moved to fix it sooner, but did not. “This case arises from catastrophic design defects in the Tesla Cybertruck that turned a survivable crash into a fatal fire,” the filing states. The Nelsons are represented by Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Details of the Crash and the Allegations
The Nelsons describe four young people who were inside the Cybertruck on the night of November 27, 2024, when the vehicle slammed into a tree and burst into flames. Krysta Tsukahara, 19, and Jack Nelson, 20, were among the back-seat passengers along with two others and the driver. The crash left the four friends dead or gravely injured, with a rescuer at one point forced to break a window to pull out the surviving passenger.
According to the complaint, when the fire cut power to the truck’s doors, the passengers were locked inside with no easy way to escape. The backup mechanical release for the door allegedly lies “beneath the liner of the map pocket at the bottom of the door” — a feature the lawsuit says is “hidden, unlabeled, and impractical to locate or use in the smoke and chaos of a post-crash fire.” The family adds that such a design is inconsistent with occupant safety and should have been addressed before the vehicle reached the market.
Regulatory Context and Wider Safety Debates
These suits arrive as federal regulators examine Tesla’s door-handle and access features. Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an inquiry into electric door handles on several Tesla models, seeking to determine whether design choices can prevent occupants from exiting after a crash. There have been prior complaints about similar systems dimming or failing under fire or high heat, complicating emergency egress in some Tesla vehicles.
In addition to the safety questions surrounding door mechanisms, a separate high-profile case in Florida last August resulted in a jury verdict requiring Tesla to pay $243 million to the family of a 22-year-old woman killed while Autopilot was engaged. The case spotlighted broader concerns about assisted-driving systems and user safety, though it did not directly involve door-release design.
What This Could Mean for Tesla
As lawsuits pile up and regulators scrutinize Tesla’s safety features, the company faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that its vehicle designs meet robust safety standards. Legal experts say the outcome of the Piedmont cases could hinge on whether plaintiffs can prove the existence of a defect that directly caused the fatalities or prevented timely escape. Tesla has repeatedly defended its safety record, but the litigation underscores a persistent tension between cutting-edge innovation and proven, user-friendly safety design.
The automaker has not publicly commented on the new suit, and it is unclear how the company will respond in court. For families affected by the crash, the lawsuits symbolize a broader demand for accountability and safer, more transparent safety features in all-electric vehicles.
