The death of a shipping magnate after her Tesla plunged into a lake has drawn attention to some safety issues with electric cars. Angela Chao, the billionaire CEO of Foremost Group, died when water rushed into her submerged car, even as her friends and rescue teams tried to pull her to safety. Although the accident happened on February 11, more details have now emerged, raising questions about car safety and what to do when you’re in a freak accident.
Angela Chao, 50, was the daughter of James Si-Cheng Chao and his wife, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, who immigrated to the United States from China and founded the Foremost Group, a major shipping company. Her older sister is Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation under former US President Donald Trump and Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush. Elaine is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Over the weekend of February 9, Angela Chao had friends over at her ranch in Austin, Texas. Around 11:30 p.m., she said goodbye to them at the guest house they were staying at on the ranch and got into her car to go to her own house located on the same property. Minutes later, she called one of her friends to say she accidentally put her Tesla in reverse instead of driving, and the car fell into a lake.
Over the next hour, various attempts were made to break the windows of her car or to have it towed. By the time officers were able to beach the car and extricate Chao, the vehicle was filled with water and she was dead. The location of her ranch delayed the arrival of rescuers, who also did not immediately have divers or a cable long enough to reach her car from a tow truck.
The fact that many car windows today are made of extremely strong laminated glass — designed to protect users in car crashes — also works against Chao.
She is survived by her three-year-old son and husband Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist and founder and CEO of Breyer Capital.
What questions does this raise for Tesla?
And before the fateful night, Chao had made the same mistake with the Tesla’s gearshifts, putting the car in reverse instead of driving, The Wall Street Journal reported. She wasn’t the only one. Many Tesla owners complain that the shifter design is confusing.
According to Business Insider“Tesla owners have expressed concern for years about design defects and apparent malfunctions that have caused them to accidentally drive into reverse… Business Insider found 12 complaints related to Tesla’s reverse function in a database of consumer complaints of cars maintained by the US Department of Transportation.’
According to Quartzmodels of the car after 2021 have a “goofy touchscreen and a complete lack of indicator and PRND [Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, and Low] stems”.
Additionally, Tesla users have also noted “phantom braking” from the car when in Autopilot mode, where it sometimes applies the brakes even in the middle of traffic.
What can you do if your car falls into water?
In May 2023, the 22nd an engineer had died when her car was caught in a flooded underpass at KR Circle in Bengaluru. Getting your vehicle into water can be a very dangerous situation and experts say that the time you have to act and save yourself is usually between 30 seconds and two minutes.
If your car falls into water, after about two minutes, it will completely sink. After about 60 seconds, the power windows will not go down. Your best chance to get out is before then, as once the car is submerged, the water pressure on the car’s doors and windows will make it difficult to open them.
According to experts, if your car does end up in water, don’t try to call anyone for help – as Chao did – as it will waste valuable time. Instead, take off your seat belt, roll down the window, and get out of the window.
If the window button is stuck, try breaking the glass, although this may be difficult. Don’t try to break the windshield—it’s designed to be the strongest glass on your car, and it will crack, but it won’t break enough to get you out.
If your car has filled with water before you can get out, wait a few minutes before opening the door or window. This will give some time for the water pressure inside and outside the car to equalize and make it easier to open the door. However, this will mean holding your breath as water fills your car and panic fills you. Your best bet is to get out while the water level is still below window level.
