— The deaths of Tesla Model S occupants Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer were allegedly caused by a defective battery and defective doors that didn't open once power was lost.
The 2016 Tesla Model S crashed at about 11 p.m. on November 1, 2024, when the car traveled off the road, hit a tree and caught fire.
The crash killed five occupants of the Tesla, all who were legally drunk.
According to a lawsuit filed by the family of two of those occupants, there were "catastrophic design defects in the Tesla Model S that turned a survivable crash into a fatal fire."
The Wisconsin lawsuit was filed by the family of Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer. Jeffrey Bauer, 54 was a front seat passenger of the Model S, and his wife Michelle, 55, was a rear seat passenger.
The Tesla Model S / Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the Tesla Model S was driven by Barry Sievers, 55, when the crash occurred near 1885 Range Trail in Verona, Wisconsin.
The lawsuit says a nearby homeowner called 911 after hearing the crash into the tree. The caller said "the car is on fire now" and that she could hear people screaming from within the vehicle. The caller also described seeing "big flames" and hearing numerous "big bangs."
The caller allegedly said she could still hear screaming coming from the Model S five minutes into the 911 call, and a separate 911 call from an off-duty police officer also reported yelling from inside the Model S.
According to the Tesla lawsuit:
"The defective and unreasonably dangerous condition of the subject vehicle was a cause and a substantial factor in the fatal injuries of Michelle Bauer and Jeffrey Bauer."
The fire allegedly occurred because the high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack "lacked widely available and effective design features that would have prevented heat transfer in the event of a crash."
Due to the crash and fire, the lawsuit says the Tesla Model S lost electrical power which prevented the occupants from opening the doors.
"The rear doors of the subject vehicle could ordinarily be made to open only by pressing low-voltage electronic buttons located inside the cabin. Once power was lost, the buttons for the rear doors became useless." — Bauer Tesla crash lawsuit
The lawsuit does say Tesla included mechanical backups accessible from inside the vehicle to open the rear doors, "but they were hidden, unlabeled, and impractical in an emergency."
The 2016 Tesla Model S owner's manual says if the car has no electrical power, the front doors open as usual using the interior door handles.
And to open a rear door with no power to the Model S, the owner's manual says to "fold back the edge of the carpet below the rear seats to expose the mechanical release cable. Pull the mechanical release cable toward the center of the vehicle."
You can see an example here.
The lawsuit goes on to say when the Tesla Model S crash occurred, the car "was being used in a manner reasonably foreseeable to Defendant Tesla."
Police Report of the Tesla Model S Crash
According to a statement from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, detectives determined that multiple factors played a role, including the road conditions, excess speed and impaired driving.
The Dane County crash report concluded Tesla Model S driver Barry Sievers had a blood-alcohol level of 0.106%, higher than the legal limit of 0.08%. However, his blood-alcohol level was the lowest among all five occupants of the Tesla.
The Dane County report also said toxicology tests determined in addition to being legally drunk, Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer also had marijuana in their systems.
Surveillance video recorded prior to the crash showed the five Tesla occupants visiting a local bar and ordering drinks, then walking out of the bar with drinks in their hands.
The Tesla Model S / Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer lawsuit was filed in the Wisconsin Circuit Court of Dane County: Bauer et al., v. Tesla, Inc. et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Murphy & Prachthauser, S.C.