A couple who took a Tesla out for a test drive found themselves in a terrifying ordeal when their 10-month-old child got locked in the car.
Tesla allows customers to take their car for an overnight test drive to experience ‘living with the car’.
But the couple found themselves regretting their decision after the car automatically locked when it ‘shut off’ with the key card still inside as well as their 10-month-old baby once they hopped out.
Video footage, captured by the baby’s mother, showed emergency services arriving on the scene while her partner attempted to call Tesla roadside assistance and dealerships for advice.
They explained that they took the Tesla X for a ‘demo’ test drive for a day to see if they liked the car, with the mom ultimately concluding: ‘We don’t like it.’
Emergency services were seen shattering the driver’s side window for it to be pulled out as baby cried still trapped inside.
The father was heard muttering ‘F*** you Elon’ off camera as the EMS workers reached inside for the key card to open the door.
‘Luckily it was around 6pm & the temperature was no longer 90+ but needless to say i will NEVER put my babies in a Tesla,’ the mom wrote.
Comments on the video were turned off, but the couple received plenty of questions on separate videos as to why they left the key card or the child in the car.
The mother responded to many saying that they had no intention of shutting the car off. When they had got out, she said they closed the doors and had been planning to get their child from the backseat.
But before they could, the car locked itself and shut off, she added in her response video: ‘There’s a spot where you leave the card, and it basically tells the car that the car should be on… so that’s where the key was left.’
One commentor wrote: ‘Forget the card why did you leave the child inside?’
She reiterates in another video that they had planned to get their child from the back seat and leave the car on to continue looking at the car.
‘Remember, this is a car that we were planning on buying… it turned itself off and locked instantly,’ she said.
Comments went back and forth, questioning how they managed to get in this situation.
One wrote: ‘Still doesn’t explain why you left the key card inside… I have gotten out of my car while on and when wanting to open the back doors, I take the key out with me or make sure at least one window is down’
To which she responds saying: ‘I will answer this for the sake of others that will ask the same thing. Lol. They key was in the ‘ignition’ slot that keeps the car on. Hope this helps’.
However, other viewers have said this is not a one-off incident, and other stories have allegedly surfaced encountering the same problem.
‘It’s crazy because you’re not the first mom this happens to – I literally saw a news story about a mom who’s Tesla also locked while charging with her baby in the backseat,’ one wrote.
The couple wanted to return the car that night, but even after calling many times were unable to, and hadn’t bothered covering the window after suffering ‘enough trauma’.
Tesla, however, were ‘very apologetic’ despite being returned without a window as suffering more damage from storm during the night.
A commentor asked if the couple were held responsible for the window, to which their account responded saying: ‘No we weren’t. They felt awful about the situation and could care less about the car or the window.’
The mother said that this situation is where it ‘becomes a manufacturers safety problem’ but she added: ‘I don’t wanna say I’m completely blaming Tesla because yeah there are ways that you can prevent this from happening.’
She continued: ‘But when you have a demo car, and you don’t have the app – that’s not available – there’s not many options that you have and it’s just ridiculous.’
