In a recent incident that has sparked a heated debate over safety, a Tesla owner found herself trapped in her vehicle during a software update, with temperatures inside the car reportedly reaching a scorching 115 degrees. The ordeal, which lasted 40 minutes, was documented by the owner, Brianna Janel, on TikTok and has since garnered millions of views.
Janel, who was waiting for her Chick-fil-A order in a parking lot in Costa Mesa, California, initiated the software update, expecting it to last 24 minutes. However, she soon found herself locked inside her Tesla as the update extended beyond the anticipated time. "When your car is updating, you're stuck in your car if you activate it while you're in here," Janel said in her video, which had received 18.3 million views at the time of publication. "So I did that and now I'm stuck in my car literally dripping sweat — like dripping sweat — and inside my car, it's 103 degrees."
Tesla's user manual cautions owners that some safety features are disabled during software updates and warns against opening the doors or windows while the update is in progress, as it could potentially damage the vehicle. The manual, however, does not specify the nature of the potential damage. Given that the starting price for a Model 3 is $38,990 and a Model X is $79,990, owners have a significant financial incentive to heed this warning.
Janel, who has owned her Tesla for about six years, decided to "wait it out" rather than risk damaging her vehicle. "I'm slightly freaking out, I hope I don't run out of air. I can't open up the doors or the windows otherwise, I could potentially damage my car," she said in her video.
The incident has sparked a debate among viewers, with some blaming Janel for not using the emergency manual release and others pointing fingers at Tesla for what they perceive as a "huge safety issue."
Despite the harrowing experience, Janel still speaks highly of her Tesla, calling it "a good vehicle," but she issued a warning to other Tesla owners: "Do not update it when you're sitting in the car. Stick to updating it at 2 a.m. like I used to do it."
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