Vancouver Man Kicks Out Tesla Window to Escape Burning Car that Locked Him Inside

Firefighters in Vancouver, Canada, are investigating a car fire involving a Tesla after an electrical malfunction caused the vehicle doors to lock shut, trapping the driver inside as smoke began pouring in through vents. The driver kicked out a window to escape from Elon Musk’s electric vehicle.

CTV News Vancouver reports that firefighters have launched an investigation into a recent Tesla fire in the Vancouver area. The driver, Jamil Jutha, was driving towards Mountain Highway in North Vancouver last Friday when his 2021 Tesla Model Y that he purchased within months of the incident suddenly shut down.

The vehicle appeared to lose all power to electrical components. Jutha stated: “The doors wouldn’t open. The windows wouldn’t go down.” Smoke began to fill the cabin via the air vents but Jutha was unable to open the doors of the vehicle which are opened via an electric button that was no longer responding.

“Of course, there’s always going to be panic in a moment when you feel trapped,” he said. “I kicked through the window, climbed out and called 911 right away.” The car continued to burn with the fire making its way into the interior of the car, flames were seen shooting in the air as the fire department arrived.

Chief Brian Hutchinson, with the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, commented: “We’re very fortunate that this individual had the wherewithal and the strength to kick the window out.”

Tesla Model Y vehicles do have a mechanical release handle but it is designed to be unobtrusive and look as if it is a plastic capping near the door and window control button.

Jutha himself stated that the mechanical release is not intuitive and can be difficult to access in an urgent situation, he further called on Tesla owners to familiarize themselves with the feature before they end up in a similar situation.

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