— Another Tesla wrongful death lawsuit has been filed, this time following a fatal Tesla Model Y crash in Claremont, California.
The lawsuit was filed over the death of Model Y passenger, 52-year-old Rasheed Bledsoe.
The 2:00 a.m. crash occurred when the 2023 Tesla Model Y left the road and crashed on April 28, 2025, killing Bledsoe and 38-year-old driver Matthew McMahon.
The 2023 Tesla Model Y slammed into a tree and caught fire. According to the lawsuit, the crash and fire were caused by Tesla, but the lawsuit doesn't discuss many details about the crash.
The lawsuit doesn't say what the driver was doing, what the speed limit was, how fast the Model Y was traveling or if Rasheed Bledsoe was wearing a seat belt. However, local media report an eyewitness said the Tesla was traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash.
According to the lawsuit, the crash and fire were caused by failure of the Autopilot system, failures of multiple safety systems, failures of the door handles and failure of the battery containment system.
The family members who filed the lawsuit claim the Autopilot system failed to detect the tree and the vehicle failed to take evasive action. However, the plaintiffs don't explain what the driver was doing when the crash occurred.
Instead, the plaintiffs contend if the Autopilot system wouldn't have failed the crash wouldn't have occurred. In addition, the door locks allegedly failed which trapped Mr. Bledsoe, who purportedly "died from thermal injuries and smoke inhalation after enduring conscious pain and suffering."
"If the door locks had been properly designed, with non electric or mechanical overrides or other emergency exit capabilities, then Mr. Bledsoe would have been able to escape, and would have survived." — Tesla wrongful death lawsuit
The plaintiffs also blame Tesla's lithium-ion battery system which caught fire when the Model Y slammed into the tree. The lawsuit claims the battery management system failed and the "battery enclosure lacked adequate fire suppression or containment systems."
The Tesla / Rasheed Bledsoe wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Bledsoe, et al., v. Tesla Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Haderlein and Kouyoumdjian LLP.