According to a report, a 20-month-old toddler was rescued from a locked Tesla after the car’s battery died. Renee Sanchez, the child’s grandmother, called 911 when she was unable to open the car. Firefighters used an ax to break the car’s window and rescue the child.
Renee Sanchez had planned to take her granddaughter to the Phoenix Zoo when the incident occurred. She closed the door on her granddaughter and was unable to get back in. Despite attempting to unlock the car with her phone key and card key, she was unsuccessful.
911 operators dispatched Scottsdale firefighters to the scene, who struggled to get inside the locked Tesla. Eventually, the firefighters used an ax to break the window and rescue the child. Tesla and Scottsdale Fire Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Safety features such as release levers on the doors can manually unlock them if power is lost in a Tesla EV. However, many owners have reported being trapped inside their vehicles after losing power due to various reasons such as software updates or hot weather conditions like this TikToker who got stuck in her Tesla for 40 minutes during a software update on a hot day.