Alijah Arenas, a top college basketball recruit and freshman at the University of Southern California, opened up about a terrifying crash involving his Tesla Cybertruck earlier this year. The accident happened in April in Los Angeles when the steering wheel on his electric truck suddenly stopped working, causing him to crash into a fire hydrant.
Arenas described waking up to find the Cybertruck on fire, with smoke filling the cabin and making it hard to breathe. He tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge, which sent him into a panic. In a desperate move, he crawled into the back seat to look for a way out. Ultimately, he managed to kick through a window and was helped out by bystanders. After the crash, he was put in a medically induced coma because of the smoke but was released from the hospital in less than a week.
This incident has cast renewed attention on safety concerns with Tesla’s newest model. The company warns in the Cybertruck manual that if the vehicle loses low-voltage power, passengers won’t be able to use the buttons to open the doors from the inside. Instead, they have to rely on manual door releases meant only for power failure situations.
The Cybertruck has been a much-awaited electric vehicle, but it hasn’t escaped trouble. Since its launch, Tesla has had to recall the Cybertruck eight times, most recently pulling back all units to fix steel trim that could fall off and cause danger on the road. Tesla also highlights the Cybertruck’s five-star crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, showing crash test images in their financial reports.
This isn’t the first time the Cybertruck’s door issues have come under scrutiny. In a separate case, three college students died in a Cybertruck crash near Oakland, California. One of them, 19-year-old Krysta Tsukahara, died of asphyxiation after being unable to get out because the doors wouldn’t open. Her family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit to understand why she couldn’t escape.
Despite what happened, Arenas took responsibility for the crash, emphasizing he didn’t want to blame anyone else. “If I would have hurt somebody, that would have really taken a toll on me,” he said.
Tesla has not responded to requests for comment about Arenas’ account. Meanwhile, this crash and others are raising questions about the safety and design of the Cybertruck’s door mechanisms in emergency situations.