In a shocking and terrible event from the United States, Tesla Inc. is facing a wrongful death lawsuit after a 47-year-old man was burned alive in a Cybertruck accident, with his bones dissolving owing to the high heat of the inferno.
According to the complaint filed by the victim’s family, on April 25, 2024, Michael Sheehan, a Texas resident, purchased a brand new Tesla Cybertruck. Just 102 days later, Sheehan was killed when the vehicle veered off the road and collided with a concrete culvert, causing what experts describe a “thermal runaway” — an uncontrollable reaction within the Cybertruck’s battery system that resulted in a fire that reached 2,760 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees F).
The fire was so fierce that, according to the family’s attorney, S. Scott West, the heat caused Sheehan’s body to shrink by eight inches and his bones to suffer thermal fracture, effectively dissolving. West called the catastrophe as “a version of hell on earth,” emphasizing the unfathomable suffering that victims face in such disasters.
The complaint also contends that Tesla’s design defects contributed to Sheehan’s death. According to the claim, the Cybertruck’s electronic doors failed after the crash owing to a power failure, locking Sheehan inside, and the external door handles were non-functional, leaving him with no way out.
“If it had been virtually any other vehicle, he would have survived,” West added, criticising Tesla for putting aesthetics ahead of safety. He continued, “This was not an accident. It was a preventable, product-related disaster.”
The lawsuit discloses that the family attempted to negotiate a settlement with Tesla, but the talks fell through, prompting the legal action.
Notably, Sheehan is considered to be the first person killed in a Cybertruck crash since the model’s debut in November 2023. Three months after his death, a second fatal occurrence happened in California, where three college students were burned to death when their Cybertruck collided with a tree.
Since its introduction, Tesla has issued eight recalls for the Cybertruck, claiming faults like as faulty accelerator pedals, bad windshield wipers, and faulty body panels, raising severe concerns about the vehicle’s overall safety profile.
As the lawsuit moves forward, it highlights growing global worries about electric car safety, particularly in light of high-temperature battery failures. At the time of this article, Tesla has not released a formal response to the case.
Reference: Tesla faces lawsuit after Texas man burned to death in cybertruck crash