Houston-area family sues Tesla over deadly Cybertruck inferno
The big picture: The wrongful death suit appears to be the first against Tesla involving a Cybertruck, but the company is facing several others related to its autopilot technology in different models.
Driving the news: The lawsuit, filed June 13 in Harris County, alleges Michael Sheehan was driving his Cybertruck near Beach City, about 30 miles east of Houston, when his vehicle left the roadway and flipped into a ditch in August 2024.
Zoom in: The family says the crash was survivable but that Sheehan died when the truck's batteries ignited and he became trapped in the mangled wreckage.
The lawsuit points to Tesla's battery design and energy-absorbing features when the truck is involved in a crash. Attorneys also allege Sheehan was unable to open the doors from the inside once power was lost and that the outdoor handles didn't open properly.
Plus, they say "alternate interior door handles are unreasonably difficult to locate in an emergency."
The lawsuit is also against a nearby bar in Mont Belvieu that the family alleges overserved Sheehan prior to the crash.
The other side: Tesla has not formally responded to the lawsuit and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Axios.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Combustion Engine Cars Will Be Like the Steam Engine,' Says Elon Musk Now That 97% of All New Car Sales in Norway Are Electric
Elon Musk's recent statement, 'As goes Norway, so goes the rest of the world. Combustion engine cars will be like the steam engine – quaint, but primitive,' comes as Norway cements its position as the world leader in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. In June 2025, an unprecedented 96.9% of all new cars sold in Norway were electric, according to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, marking a dramatic rise from 80% just a year earlier. This milestone underscores the country's rapid transition away from internal combustion engines — a trend that many industry observers, including Musk, believe will soon reshape global markets. The scale of Norway's EV dominance is striking. Out of 18,376 new cars registered in June, 17,799 were electric, with only a small fraction being hybrids or combustion engine vehicles. Pure diesel and petrol models accounted for just 0.8% and 0.3% of the market, respectively — a sharp decline from previous years. Musk's own Tesla (TSLA) Model Y led the charge, representing over a quarter of all new registrations, with 5,004 units sold in June alone. Other popular models included the Toyota bZ4X and VW ID.4, but none came close to Tesla's market share. Michael Saylor Says 'You'll Wish You'd Bought More' Bitcoin as MicroStrategy Doubles Down Wolfspeed Is Surging After Filing for Bankruptcy. Is It Too Late to Touch WOLF Stock Here? Is Microsoft Stock About to Go Nuclear? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! This surge in EV sales is not an isolated event. For the first half of 2025, electric cars made up 93.7% of all new car registrations in Norway, up from 84.9% during the same period in 2024. The country's aggressive incentives, such as zero or low-interest financing and recent interest rate cuts, have played a significant role in boosting demand. These policies, combined with a growing range of EV models and improved charging infrastructure, have made Norway a template for what a post-combustion automotive market could look like. The environmental impact is equally significant. The average CO2 emissions from new cars in Norway have dropped to just 3.5 grams per kilometer, reflecting the near-total absence of fossil fuel-powered vehicles in new sales. This dramatic reduction supports Norway's ambitious climate goals and demonstrates the potential for similar results in other countries that follow its lead. Musk's comparison of combustion engine cars to steam engines highlights the broader implications for the global auto industry. As Norway approaches its goal of making all new car sales emission-free, the rapid decline of combustion engines is seen not just as a local phenomenon, but as a preview of what may soon unfold worldwide. With major automakers and governments watching Norway's progress, the country's experience offers both a blueprint and a challenge for the future of transportation. On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Behold, the epic flop that is the Cybertruck
A version of this story appeared in the CNN Business Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. It might not come as a shock if you have eyes, but the Cybertruck is, officially, a flop. Tesla is deliberately opaque about its sales numbers on specific models, so you have to squint to get a sense of just how badly the company's dystopian dumpster on wheels is performing in the real world. But we definitely have some idea. Here's what we know, based on Tesla's deliveries (a proxy for sales) released this week: The EV maker delivered about 384,000 vehicles in total, world-wide, between April and June this year — a record 13.5% decline from a year earlier. Zoom in, and it gets uglier. Tesla doesn't break out sales of the Cybertruck, one of its 'premium' models that was plucked straight from CEO Elon Musk's internet-addled brain. It discloses just two categories — the Model 3 and Y in one category and, in the second, 'other models,' which is almost entirely the company's legacy Model S sedan, the Model X SUV and the Cybertruck. The company said it delivered about 10,400 'other' models in the second quarter, which itself is a huge problem. In the same quarter last year, Tesla sold more than 21,500 'other' models. It's hard to think of another word for a 52% decline other than a collapse. How many of those 'others' are Cybertrucks, and how many are the Model S or X? That's not entirely clear. But let's look at the first three months of this year. Tesla sold about 12,900 'other' models, of which 7,100 were Cybertrucks, according to registration data from S&P Global Mobility. So a bit more than half. It'd be safe to estimate, then, that Tesla likely sold something in the ballpark of 5,000-6,000 Cybertrucks in the second quarter if consumer trends held steady. It might even be getting marginally outsold by the F-150 Lightning and GM's electric pickups, rivals whose sales are also falling but weren't nearly as hyped as Musk's brainchild. The company didn't respond to a request for comment. But even in a hypothetical world where all of those 10,400 deliveries in the second quarter were Cybertrucks, Tesla would still be massively underperforming the expectations set by Musk, who told investors two years ago that he expected Tesla to be churning out 250,000 a year by 2025. We're halfway through the year, and Tesla has barely hit a fraction of that. What could possibly be holding Cybertruck sales back, apart from its $80,000-$100,000 price tag and the imminent erasure of EV tax credits? Perhaps it's the oddball design. Or the repeated recalls, including one for an exterior steel panel falling off while the truck is moving. Or the roughly 200-mile real-world range reported by owners, rather than the 500-mile range that was initially promised. Or the lack of the also initially-promised range extender, which quietly disappeared. Or the vehicle's intractable affiliation with the world's wealthiest wannabe-oligarch. Or maybe people fear dropping six figures on a 7,000-pound car that has become a symbol of the MAGA right wing and a target of vandalism. Will the Cybertruck's shortcomings sink Tesla? Probably not. But the stumble has become a reflection of the company's broader turmoil. The electric truck faces serious competition from the likes of Rivian, Ford and GM. Chinese rivals are eating into Tesla's market share in key markets overseas, particularly Europe and China. Tesla is on the verge of losing its title as the world's largest EV maker by annual sales to Chinese automaker BYD. This week, BYD — which isn't allowed in the US market — reported 1 million electric vehicles sold in the first half of this year, putting it far ahead of Tesla's year-to-date total of about 721,000. The Tesla faithful on Wall Street are still all-in on Musk, whom they see as a visionary and, perhaps more to the point, a showman who has made them rich. Tesla's stock (TSLA) is down about 17% this year, but it's up nearly 300% over the last five years. For the ride-or-die bulls, it may not matter that Musk's MAGA turn has clobbered the company's core business of selling cars because he has convinced them that Tesla's future lies in an AI-powered, driverless utopia. And it's Musk's history of promises that have driven that meteoric share price increase, and, accordingly, Musk's personal wealth. But the longer Musk is at the helm, the more his promises and predictions seem to come up short.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tesla ‘very strong' June ‘looks like an aberration,' says HSBC
HSBC says Tesla's (TSLA) reported Q2 volumes 'imply an exceptional June' and finds it 'difficult to explain this sales bump.' Q3 may see some pulled forward demand ahead of the new tax bill, but the firm thinks the June result 'looks like an aberration' and doesn't expect the 170,000-180,000 vehicle June run-rate to 'be the new normal,' the analyst tells investors. HSBC maintains a Reduce rating and $120 price target on Tesla shares. Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See the top stocks recommended by analysts >> Read More on TSLA: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Notable open interest changes for July 3rd Rivian Stock Has 'Exactly 6 Months' Left to Prove Its EV Comeback Story QQQ ETF News, 7/3/2025 Tesla price target raised to $315 from $285 at Goldman Sachs Tesla sales slump as Musk prioritizes robots, AVs, WSJ reports Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
