Tesla hit with second lawsuit over deadly California Cybertruck crash
Tesla is being sued by the parents of a another victim killed in a Cybertruck crash in the quiet town of Piedmont, California.This is the second suit filed against the car maker this week alleging a design flaw in its vehicle is to blame for the deaths of the passengers involved in the accident, according to court filings.The parents of Jack Nelson allege that the company that helped Elon Musk become the world’s richest man knew about the flaw for years and could have moved faster to fix the problem but did not, leaving the passengers trapped amid flames and smoke that eventually killed them.“This case arises from catastrophic design defects in the Tesla Cybertruck that turned a survivable crash into a fatal fire,” reads the complaint, which was filed on Thursday in Alameda county superior court.The Nelsons are being represented by the firm Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger.
Tesla did not reply to a request for comment.A similar suit was filed against Tesla on Thursday by the parents of Krysta Tsukahara, another victim of the crash.Tsukahara, 19, and Nelson, 20, were traveling in the back of the Cybertruck on 27 November 2024, with one other passenger and the driver.The car smashed into a tree at high speed and caught on fire, according to a California highway patrol report.When power to the truck’s electric doors was shuttered by the fire, the passengers were locked inside with no way out.
The driver also died.The fourth passenger was pulled from the car after a rescuer broke a window.“The four young people in the Cybertruck were close friends and outstanding individuals, each on the verge of making meaningful contributions to the world,” Todd and Stannye Nelson, Jack’s parents, said in a statement.“They were all victims of Tesla’s unsafe design.Their deaths and injuries have devastated everyone who knew them.
”The new legal threats to Tesla come just weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the car maker about its electric door handles, which are built to be flush with the body of the vehicle.The agency is also looking into complaints by drivers that said after exiting their cars, they could not open back doors to get their children out and, in some cases, had to break the window to reach them.Tesla door handles have been at the center of several other crash lawsuits because the battery powering the unlocking mechanism can be destroyed in a fire and the manual releases that override that system are difficult to find.“The backup mechanical release for that door was concealed beneath the liner of the map pocket at the bottom of the door – hidden, unlabeled, and impractical to locate or use in the smoke and chaos of a post-crash fire,” said the Nelsons.“As a result, the Cybertruck’s design left Jack and the other occupants with no practical way to escape.
”The Cybertruck lawsuits follow several others that have claimed various safety problems with Tesla cars.In August, a Florida jury decided that Tesla must pay $243m in damages to the family of a 22-year-old woman who was killed by one of its vehicles operating in Autopilot mode.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.Secure Messaging in the Guardian appThe Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.
Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs.This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu.Select ‘Secure Messaging’.SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and postIf you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian,com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each,
Robert Jenrick complained of ‘not seeing another white face’ in Birmingham neighbourhood
Robert Jenrick complained about visiting an area of Birmingham where he “didn’t see another white face” and said it was not the kind of country he wanted to live in.After highlighting the lack of white people, the shadow justice secretary said it was not about “the colour of your skin or your faith” and he wanted people to live alongside each other.However, he has been criticised by the area’s MP for suggesting he could tell whether Handsworth was “properly integrated” based on whether there were any white people in the area during a 90-minute period.Jenrick made the comments, which were recorded, during a dinner at the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association dinner on 14 March after he had recorded a video for GB News about litter in the suburb.He told the dinner: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on litter and it was absolutely appalling
Has Kemi Badenoch sounded the death knell for one nation Conservatism?
In one popular reading of the history of Tory successes, the party’s last three election-winning prime ministers – John Major, David Cameron and Boris Johnson – all swept into Downing Street on unifying one-nation platforms.But for many people this year’s Tory conference, marked by its hardening rhetoric on asylum seekers and growing overtures to Nigel Farage’s brand of politics, feels a far cry from those broad principles.Kemi Badenoch kicked off the gathering in Manchester with a pledge to withdraw the UK from the European convention on human rights, a move which would have been controversial inside the party just a few years ago but now commands the support of the vast majority of Conservative MPs.The Tory leader has also committed to scrapping the UK’s net zero target by 2050, shattering the mainstream political consensus on the climate crisis.It is no surprise then that insiders are asking whether Badenoch’s leadership – and the direction the party is taking under the influence of rightwingers such as Robert Jenrick – sounds the death knell for one nation Conservatism
Tories set a low bar after misspelling Britain on conference chocolate
A chocolate bar given out by the Conservatives at their annual party conference misspelled the name of the country they are hoping to govern.The confectionery, in a blue wrapper, featured a slogan from the Tory party leader with an incorrect spelling of Britain.“When Labour negotiates, Britian loses,” read the message, signed by Kemi Badenoch.The chocolate bar was included in a goodie bag given out at the party’s conference in Manchester, the Sun reported.Organisers are reportedly blaming the mistake on a “printing error” and have since removed the chocolate from the bags, which also contained pictures of Rachel Reeves’s “fake CV” and a mock copy of Reform UK’s manifesto
Nearly two thirds of Tory members want pact with Reform, poll suggests, with close to half supporting full merger – as it happened
Andrew Rosindell is not alone in wanting a pact with Reform UK. (See 4.59am.) According to new polling by YouGov, almost two thirds of members want a pact, and almost half of them would support a full merger.The same poll found that half of members want Kemi Badenoch to be replaced as Tory leader before the next election, while 46% want her to stay on
Humiliation upon humiliation for the Melster in front of half-full Tory crowd | John Crace
The unbearable lightness of the Tory party conference. A place where nothing ever happens. Where dreams come to die. Where the only joy to be found is in the possibility of forgetting. Oblivion is the hottest ticket on offer
Jonathan Powell to face MPs over role in collapse of espionage trial
Jonathan Powell will appear before parliament for the first time amid questions about his role in the collapse of a trial of two Britons accused of spying for China.Keir Starmer’s national security adviser is due to be quizzed by senior parliamentarians at a private hearing of the joint committee on the national security strategy in the coming weeks.Powell’s appearance will mark the end of a year-long standoff between the committee and ministers, who refused for months to make him available for scrutiny before parliament. The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Monday that Powell “takes his accountability responsibilities very seriously”.The committee, chaired by the Labour MP Matt Western, is in discussions with officials over the date of the hearing
Ineos to cut a fifth of Hull jobs, blaming ‘dirt-cheap’ imports from China
Australia Post releases footage of posties being hit by cars as it urges drivers to ‘keep an eye out’
‘We want justice’: workers at Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia still waiting on financial redress
‘Obedient, yielding and happy to follow’: the troubling rise of AI girlfriends
Trevor Lawrence’s trip and score TD leads Jaguars to thrilling late win over Chiefs
Marnus Labuschagne dropped from Australia ODI squad to face India