The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
What if this hadn’t been purposeful but an accidental blast… and the doors auto-locked someone inside? Do you need Musk’s personal cell number to be able to get out alive? What even is this?
Seriously, how are Tesla’s not widely considered dangerous deathtraps at this point.
Car bomb attacks are also exceedingly rare. I personally think the odds are an even split both ways.
Either way, it’s truly despicable that the doors auto-locked during it, and I think Tesla needs to answer to an investigation on that one.
Tesla doors lock when a key* has been disconnected for a short time while parked
* a key being a phone via Bluetooth, an RFID card, or a dongle. The card is disconnected if removed from the reader area (such as by a bomb going off). Phones are disconnected if too far away or if the phone or Bluetooth are turned off, dongles are disconnected if moved too far away or destroyed, for example by that bomb or the fire
The vehicle is most likely set to unlock in a collision, but in this case it was parked so it’s normal for it to lock when the key is not detected, that’s how “walk away lock” works
Then put a fire sensor in the car to keep the door’s unlocked. I don’t know, but the fact it stayed locked may have cost the driver their life. I personally think it was a dickhead with a bunch of fireworks planning on a BBQ out in the desert (propane tanks) or something.
That really isn’t the point. It could be 50/50 for this incident, but EVs (and as much as I hate saying something good about Tesla), even Teslas, don’t have a track record of blowing up. Plus the gas and fireworks in the back say intention. Maybe earlier than intended, but carrying that much flammable cargo is a fire waiting to happen