this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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Fuck Cars

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In case you thought cars would become safer as technology developed... rest assured, Tesla is finding newer and ever-dumber ways to make their cars dangerous to occupants (and others).

TL;DR: If you're in a Tesla and it loses power (like in a fire), the only way to open the doors is often an unlabeled wire behind either two panels or a speaker grill. Tesla owners are DIYing janky rip cords to make that wire easier to pull to escape.

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[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 14 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I bought my acquaintance with a Tesler the cheapest glass breaking hammer thingy (1 monies including shipping :)).

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Most Tesla front windows are laminated glass like a windshield, not tempered. It helps block out road noise and wind whooshing which is important in an EV since you don't have an engine rumbling to cover up those noises.

The glass breaking hammer may not be as useful as you think.

https://youtu.be/SsbL388Ay3A

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

Oh, I know almost nothing about Teslas (lack of interest on my part), but you are right.
(Not sure how many Teslas use it tho.)

It seems you can buy little glass saws if your side windows are laminated.

Rescuers use power saws or these little clippers:

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Make them tape it somewhere accessible in the car. If it's loose in the car, the they will never find it in time after an accident.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 10 points 3 weeks ago

I'll just use it & pre-break all their windows, it's the safest option tbh.

[–] dontblink@feddit.it 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Why the fuck not using mechanical ports?

[–] marius@feddit.org 4 points 3 weeks ago

Too mainstream

[–] Metz@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

I think a classic is appropriate at this point.

ROFL

[–] aeharding@vger.social 79 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Last year 5 people in my town burned alive in a Tesla while talking with 911 operator after a crash. No media reports other than local news.

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/man-and-woman-from-brooklyn-park-amoung-five-killed-in-crash-near-madison-wi-friday/

[–] FeatherConstrictor@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh that's so cool I'm using Voyager rn! Ty for the info

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago

When the article (the original one) said “at least 12 people” had died trapped in Teslas, my first thought was, “At least 12 people are reported to have died, because that number sounds way too low.”

With how much media fuckery by billionaires is going on these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if many more casualties are going un- and under-reported. When rich people control media, they control people’s perception of reality. There’s so much blood on Elon Musk’s hands, it’s sickening.

[–] vivendi@programming.dev 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

ayo it's voyager

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 37 points 3 weeks ago

They crashed near my town!

Our local news also covered it (linked in the article). The local Reddit board definitely noticed how quiet the media was about it.

Because you're right, the 911 dispatch records are public, the dispatcher mentioned that the people inside the vehicle were yelling for assistance. They were alive and awake. They just couldn't figure out how to escape.

God, what a stupid door handle design!

[–] umbraroze@slrpnk.net 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You should install a separate battery system (and have it on an easy to access place for simple battery replacement - on the ceiling, for example). Also slap a battery status display on the dashboard, better keep it separate and not depend on the babby tablet. Now, what will this battery power? The emergency system, of course. I've got two words for you: Explosive bolts. That's right, you pull one of the new tiger-stripe-marked levers above each door, and all of the doors eject violently to the side, allowing you to escape a doomed vehicle in any conceivable circumstance. This is what we in the know call "cyberpunk as fuck".

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Better solution is to have an explosive pin on each window. Flip the cover, and press the button and all the pins detonate, shattering each window.

You could make even tie it in to the door circuit. As long as the car has power to the door latch, pressing the button does nothing.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Here’s the truly maddening part. This isn’t some unsolvable engineering problem. Tons of other manufacturers seemed to have figured this out, and many opt for the same simple solution. In models with electric door handles… Porsche, Audi, Lexus, even the Ford Mustang Mach-E… the solution is elegantly simple: To mechanically open the non-Tesla electronic doors: Just pull the door handle harder.

I wonder if this has to do with patents somehow. I don't get why people would even care about having a car door that requires slightly less force to unlatch to begin with though, if they can't do it safely the obviously better design would be to just have it be a regular car door...

[–] Quibblekrust@thelemmy.club 3 points 3 weeks ago

I don't get why people would even care about having a car door that requires slightly less force to unlatch to begin with...

Because it's not "slightly" less. It's completely automatic. On a Toyota Sienna, for instance, a tiny flick of the sliding door handle causes the door to open all the way electronically. A 90 year old with arthritis could do it. Meanwhile, that same handle also manually opens the door but requires a fuck ton more force.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 19 points 3 weeks ago

The crazy thing, I think that the other guys are imitating Tesla.

Tesla was an early adopter of electronic latches. They open slightly smoother than a mechanical latch. That smoothness is haptic feedback that became associated with "fancy car" in the buyer's head. The Ford Mach-E and the Audi e-Tron... I think they're just imitating Tesla, only they don't do it in the stupid and dangerous way, because they're not amateurs. They're imitating Tesla while removing the obvious safety flaw in the design.

Of course, you are 100% right. It should just be a regular car door handle, if there is ANY risk of the door not functioning with the silly tiny-added-value electronic feature.

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