Lithium battery cars and barbeques

Family sues Tesla after Cybertruck owner dies in 5,000-degree inferno, causing bones to disintegrate

A Tesla owner was burned alive in his Cybertruck after the stainless-steel beast erupted in a 5,000-degree inferno so intense it caused his bones to disintegrate, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Texas.

Michael Sheehan, 47, bought the futuristic pickup in April 2024. Just three months later on Aug. 3, the truck veered off-road, slammed into a culvert and burst into flames near Beach City, around 30 miles east of Houston.

The raging fire trapped Sheehan inside the vehicle as the batteries powering the $100,000 SUV went into catastrophic failure, court filings say. The blaze was so hot Sheehan’s skeletal system literally fractured from the heat.

Sheehan’s widow, Shannon, and his parents filed the suit in June, accusing Tesla of selling a vehicle so defectively designed it transformed a survivable crash into a fiery death.

“This was a single-vehicle crash,” the petition states. “The crash forces were survivable… except for the fire, ergonomic shortcomings, and deficient crashworthiness.”

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The lawsuit says the Cybertruck’s electrically operated doors can’t be opened once power is cut. Exterior handles fail, and the manual release latches inside are “unreasonably difficult to locate in an emergency.”

Tesla, the filing continues, gave owners “insufficient warnings or training” on how to exit post-crash.

The suit claims the Cybertruck’s battery system was “hyper volatile” and prone to “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction of short-circuits that unleashes uncontrollable heat. KHOU11

“But when Tesla delivered this [Cybertruck] to him, the instructions they gave him were woefully inadequate to handle a situation like this.”

He was drunk, but really, the cause of the crash and what happened afterwards are different issues, for the most part.

[Plaintiff’s attorney] West acknowledged that Sheehan had alcohol in his system, a fact noted in the complaint. But, he argued, “that shouldn’t sign his death warrant.”

In fact, the lawsuit also targets 3180 Bar, LLC, doing business as The Barn Whiskey Bar, where Sheehan was allegedly overserved on the night of the crash.

Attorneys accuse the bar of continuing to serve Sheehan despite his condition and failing to intervene or provide safe alternatives.

Sheehan was the first person to die in a Cybertruck crash since the model launched in November 2023, according to The Independent.

One bright spot: he died while doing the three things he loved most:

“His obituary said he loved [drinking and driving, and] cooking for family and friends.”