Tesla sued after another person was burned to death because rescuers couldn’t open their door – Jalopnik

Good morning! It’s Monday, November 24, 2025 and this is The Morning Shift, your daily digest of the most important car news from around the world, in one place. Here are the top stories shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning’s edition, Tesla is hit with a new lawsuit after its poorly designed door handles reportedly led to another death, Bollinger is officially closing its doors for good, General Motors plans to invest another $550 million in US manufacturing by 2027 and, oh look, Ford is recalling about a quarter of a million vehicles.

Jeffery and Wendy Dennis, a married couple, were running errands on Sunday afternoon when their car “suddenly and rapidly went out of control,” according to the lawsuit filed in Washington state federal court. It then hit a utility pole and caught fire. It said Tesla’s “unique and defective door handle design” made the doors unusable and harmed the rescue process.

Wendy died at the scene and Jefferey suffered serious injuries, including burns to his legs. By Bloomberg:

“Several bystanders ran to the vehicle and attempted to assist Jeff and Wendy Dennis, but the Model 3’s door handles did not work,” attorneys representing Jeffery Dennis and his wife’s estate said in the lawsuit. “Several Good Samaritans even tried to use a baseball bat to break car windows to help.”

[…]

The new lawsuit accuses Tesla of negligence and misleading customers, arguing that Elon Musk’s company knew the door handles could become inoperable after a crash and was aware of the fire hazards of the lithium-ion battery pack, but did nothing to address either problem. It is also alleged that the Model 3 involved in the crash had a defect that caused the vehicle to suddenly accelerate out of control and caused the automatic emergency braking system to fail.

Tesla vehicles have two batteries: one for low-voltage power to interior functions such as windows, doors and the touchscreen, and the high-voltage pack that powers the car. If the low-voltage battery discharges or shuts down – which can happen after a serious crash – the doors may not unlock and must be opened manually from the inside. Although there are mechanical releases in Teslas, many owners and passengers don’t know where they are or how to operate them.

Tesla is already facing a slew of lawsuits over the design of its door handles. Just weeks ago, charges were filed in Wisconsin over a Model S crash that killed all five occupants, who were trapped after a fire engulfed the car and the doors wouldn’t open. In October, Tesla was sued over claims that defective doors on a crashed Cybertruck in California turned it into a “death trap” and prevented three students from getting out before they died of smoke inhalation.

I don’t know how Tesla gets out of this.

Last week we told you that Bollinger was struggling to meet its payroll obligations and that the company currently has 59 claims for unpaid wages pending with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. We knew this world wouldn’t last long, but we didn’t know it would all end so soon. From the Detroit Free Press:

“We received notice late last night that the day has arrived, we will officially be closing the doors of Bollinger Motors, effective today, November 21, 2025,” Watson’s email said.

[…]

Watson told employees in the email that David Michery, the CEO of Bollinger Innovations (the parent company of Bollinger Motors), “will make us whole on the remaining funds” that went unpaid because the company missed payroll for the last two pay periods.

“I am in the process of making checks for the 10/31/2025 payroll and I believe they will be in hand on Monday,” Watson wrote. “It’s the end of an era, but one that you should all be very proud of.”

[…]

In March, the company’s founder and namesake, Robert Bollinger – who had left the company – sued over a $10 million loan he had given the company the previous October. Robert Bollinger claimed the company was bankrupt and sought a moratorium to handle the repayment of his loan. The company left receivership in June.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, at least six suppliers have taken legal action against Bollinger this year to pay more than $5 million in overdue bills.

Michery, the CEO of Bollinger’s parent company, took over the reins of Bollinger Motors in June. Michery has rebranded his own California-based EV start-up, Mullen Automotive, as Bollinger, bringing all brands under the umbrella of “Bollinger Innovations.”

At this time, Bollinger Innovations is still open for business. Of course, Bollinger, the maker of its chassis trucks and SUV prototypes, is gone, so I don’t know what the plan is. I’m not much of a gambler, but if I had to guess, Bollinger Innovations doesn’t have much of a future in this world either. Don’t know. I’ve been wrong before.

Both investments are tied to the nearly $4 billion GM is spending on the Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, the Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas and the Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Tennessee. By Automotive News:

“Our commitment to Parma Metal Center isn’t just about upgrading equipment – ​​it’s about investing in the people who make it all possible,” Mike Trevorrow, GM’s senior vice president of global manufacturing, said in a Nov. 20 statement. “Our manufacturing teams are the driving force behind GM’s success, and we want to give them the tools and training they need to excel in today’s advanced manufacturing world.”

GM presented a plan in June to increase U.S. production of internal combustion vehicles. Orion Assembly, which is due to be renewed since the end of 2023 and would make electric pickups, will now build gasoline versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra and the Cadillac Escalade SUV.

Fairfax Assembly will build the electric Chevrolet Bolt alongside the internal combustion Chevy Equinox, which will also be made in Mexico. GM also said the Fairfax plant will build affordable electric vehicles in the future.

GM will move the gasoline version of the Chevy Blazer from Mexico to the Spring Hill plant in 2027, along with the Cadillac XT5 and two Cadillac EVs, the Lyriq and Vistiq.

These new investments increase GM’s total spending tied to production increases to nearly $5.5 billion. That includes $888 million in an engine plant near Buffalo, New York, that will build the next generation of V8 engines.

The recall affects 2025-2026 Bronco and Bronco Sport vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a Nov. 18 notice. All recalled vehicles are believed to contain the defect.

The government agency said Ford will resolve the issue with a software update, which can be installed for free at a dealer or delivered over-the-air via an over-the-air update.

As of Nov. 7, 2025, Ford said it was aware of 12 warranty claims possibly related to the display issue, NHTSA documents show.

Ford is still leading the way when it comes to recalls. So far this year, the automaker has done just that 138 recalls issued. That’s more than Stellantis, General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda and BMW combined – and they are in places two to six.

History.com

I know it’s unlikely, but if Ruby hadn’t done this, maybe there wouldn’t have been so many conspiracy theories about JFK’s assassination. If there hadn’t been so many conspiracy theories, we might have been spared that stupid Oliver Stone movie. Oh, do you like that movie? Get real.