Victims' families sue Tesla over deadly Piedmont Cybertruck crash, blaming defective door handles

PIEDMONT, Calif. - The families of two young adults who died in a 2024 crash and fire are taking Tesla to court. The crash involved a Cybertruck in Piedmont in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Eve last year. The lawsuits allege the tricky design of the truck's door handles left the victims trapped inside. 

Families name Tesla as defendant in lawsuits over horrific crash

The families of Krysta Tsukahara, 19, and Jack Nelson, 20, have each filed separate lawsuits against Tesla. The Tsukahara family's existing lawsuit in the case was amended Thursday to add Tesla as a defendant. Meanwhile, the Nelson family filed a new lawsuit Friday. Attorneys for both families say their respective investigations found that the Cybertruck's door design left the victims trapped in the burning vehicle. 

"It was clear to us that the door failed to operate because it lost power," said Roger Dreyer, attorney for Noelle and Carl Tsukahara.

"You know, Jack Nelson survived the crash. His injuries were relatively minor. What killed him was that he couldn't get out of the car," said Matthew Davis, attorney for Todd and Stanneye Nelson. 

The driver of the truck, Soren Dixon, 20, was also killed. His estate is named as a defendant in both lawsuits, along with Tesla. Authorities say Dixon was drunk and speeding at the time of the crash.

Were defective door handles to blame?

But attorneys for the victims say it was Tesla's electronic door handles — and a hard-to-find emergency release—that turned the truck into a death trap.

"They failed to design a system that allows these doors to open either from the outside or the inside in an emergency situation like this. That's a defect," said Dreyer. 

The lawsuits also document numerous other instances where Tesla door handles reportedly posed a safety issue. Davis suggested this could amount to more than just negligence. 

"If a company is guilty of malice, then a jury can decide to award punitive damages to punish that company and to make an example out of them. They may be appropriate in this case," said Davis. 

A teachable moment, says expert

Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, says change needs to happen to save lives in the future. 

"What would really help is just a minimum safety standard," said Brooks. "So that no matter what car you get into, it's going to be obvious to you how to operate the manual release when you're in a crash. That seems like the simplest way to approach the issue and to ensure that down the road, more manufacturers don't copy this bad design."

As of Friday evening, Tesla has not responded to KTVU's request for comment. However, the company does say it's looking at combining the electronic and manual release handles into one, to make it easier to get out in an emergency.