A woman named Diane, who lives in the Phoenix area, recently got trapped in her Model Y Tesla after the battery died without warning. When both the main car battery and the smaller battery that feeds the onboard electronics die, the doors and windows automatically shut and won't open. AZ Family explains:
"It was fully charged," she said. "I unplugged the car, went to get in my car, shut the door, and everything just shut down. I couldn't open the windows. I couldn't unlock the doors. I was trapped."
Diane was stuck inside her car. She wanted to check the owner's manual to try to figure out what was going on, but that was impossible: the glove box wouldn't open either.
"I called a friend of mine in the neighborhood and said, you know, can you please come over right away. I'm trapped in the car. He came over he couldn't figure it out. He says there's no way to open the car from the outside."
Diane got on the Tesla app and requested Emergency Roadside Assistance. Eventually they let her know through a text that there's a secret latch to open the door.
Once she located it, Diane was finally able to get out. "It's scary," she said. "It's very unnerving to say the least."
You can see a video of the woman discussing the incident here.
This isn't the first time someone got trapped in a Tesla, and, sadly, it probably won't be the last. If you own a Tesla or care about someone who does, let them know that the latch to release the doors is located on the underside of the armrest. It's unmarked, naturally. Come on, Telsa, can't you do better?
