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2023 TESLA MODEL 3 — STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · 2223074 · 2026-07-07

Vehicle

Make
TESLA
Model
MODEL 3
Year
2023
Manufacturer
Tesla, Inc.
Component
STRUCTURE:BODY

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

Vehicle: Tesla Model 3 Issue: Power trunk failed to detect obstruction Date of incident: July 5, 2026 Location: Surprise, AZ During normal use of the vehicle, my child pressed the “close trunk” button while I was leaning into the trunk area. The powered trunk began closing and did not stop when it made contact with my head. Instead of reversing direction, the trunk continued applying downward force until I moved out of the way. This indicates a failure of the trunk’s obstruction detection system, which is supposed to prevent injury by stopping or reversing when an object or person is detected. This malfunction poses a significant safety risk, especially to children who may accidentally activate the trunk or to adults loading items. A powered trunk should not be able to continue closing on a person’s head. I request that NHTSA investigate whether this is a defect in the Tesla Model 3 trunk sensor system and whether similar incidents have been reported.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
11748682
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown