A Cybertruck is parked outside of a dealership on November 14, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
August, 2025
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A Texas man died after he couldn't escape a Cybertruck that caught fire after a crash. His family is now suing Tesla in a wrongful death lawsuit that alleges the automaker was negligent in the design and manufacturing of the Cybertruck.
The lawsuit, which also names a Mont Belvieu bar that is accused of failing in its duty to refrain from serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons, was filed in Harris County on June 13. According to the lawsuit, Michael Sheehan was driving a Tesla Cybertruck in Baytown on August 5, 2024 when the vehicle left the road, struck a culvert and caught fire.
The lawsuit alleges the crash forces were survivable, but the Cybertruck is "defectively designed." The suit claimed occupants can't open doors once power is lost and Tesla provided insufficient warnings or training for occupants to have a safe exit after a crash.
As Axios first reported, the suit is seemingly the first one against Tesla involving a Cybertruck, the Austin automaker's angular vehicle that stirred mixed feelings upon its launch. However, it's not the only death involving a Cybertruck catching fire. In California, three college students died after a Tesla Cybertruck crashed and caught fire. A survivor of the crash was pulled from the vehicle by a witness.
It's unclear what caused the Cybertruck to catch fire following the crash in Piedmont, but the California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, the family of Krysta Tsukahara, one of the people killed in the crash, recently filed a lawsuit against the driver's estate and the owner of the vehicle.
"Krysta was in the back rear seat on the right-hand side," family attorney Roger Dreyer told NBC Bay Area. "The door didn't work. She couldn't get out. You know she was trying desperately to get out. What went wrong with that vehicle that prevented her from being able to exit it?"
When the Cybertruck was released in November 2023, the vehicle was a long-anticipated addition to Tesla's lineup and was embraced by Tesla fans. But even before the release of the Cybertruck, safety concerns attributed to the vehicle with its sharp design raised eyebrows among safety experts and pedestrians.
An analysis released earlier this year found that the rate of fire fatalities in the Cybertruck's first year is higher than what the notorious Ford Pinto saw during its nine-year production life. And the Cybertruck has also seen several recalls in order to fix issues such as faulty acceleration pedals and an exterior panel at risk of detaching. Still, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published results of its first Cybertruck crash test in late February, the car received a five-star overall safety rating-the safest rating a vehicle can earn.
A trial for Sheehan's case has not been set yet, but the lawsuit notes the family is seeking monetary relief of more than $1 million.