Overview

• Police in North Rhine-Westphalia are conducting a specialized reconstruction of the Sept. 7 crash in Villigst after a Tesla left the road during an overtaking attempt, hit a tree and caught fire.
• A 43-year-old man and two nine-year-old children died at the scene, while a third child escaped and was airlifted to a hospital; authorities have not released the victims’ identities.
• An eyewitness, Roman Jedrzejewski, said he could not open the car using its retractable handles, and firefighters reported repeated flare-ups while extinguishing the blaze.
• NHTSA has opened a preliminary investigation into roughly 174,000 Model Y vehicles following reports that electronic exterior door handles could not be opened in emergencies, though interior manual releases exist.
• Tesla’s design chief, Franz von Holzhausen, told Bloomberg the company is working on a redesign of the door handles following the reported incidents.