Chao with husband Jim Breyer Photo: Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
This article originally appeared on Jalopnik.
Angela Chao — billionaire sister of former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and sister-in-law of Mitch McConnell — died last month when her Tesla Model X sank in a manmade pond on her 900-acre Texas ranch. She was trapped in the car as it flooded, unable to open the unpowered doors, as friends and rescue crews tried to find a way to break in. Now, a report from the Wall Street Journal claims the Tesla’s touchscreen-based shifting interface may have contributed to her getting in the water to begin with.
Back
in
2021,
Tesla
moved
to
a
touchscreen
interface
for
shifting
its
cars.
According
to
the
Wall
Street
Journal,
that
touchscreen
was
a
feature
that
had
previously
caused
problems
for
Chao.
The
report
claims
that,
while
attempting
to
make
a
three-point
turn,
Chao
inadvertently
put
the
Tesla
in
reverse
instead
of
forward:
Within minutes of saying her goodbyes, she called one of her friends in a panic. While making a three-point turn, she had put the car in reverse instead of drive, she said. It is a mistake she had made before with the Tesla gearshift. The car had zipped backward, tipping over an embankment and into a pond. It was sinking fast. Could they help her?
Everyone looking at the situation seems to throw some amount of blame on the Model X. Some blame the doors’ convoluted emergency opening system, while others eye the touchscreen shifter that had previously troubled Chao. One person, however, doesn’t seem to think Tesla did any wrong: Chao’s husband, Jim Breyer. From the Wall Street Journal:
No
one
in
the
family
blames
Tesla,
according
to
a
person
familiar
with
the
situation.
Breyer
and
his
wife
had
three
Teslas
and
loved
them,
and
often
spoke
about
how
electric
vehicles
were
good
for
the
planet.
Breyer
considers
himself
a
friend
of
Elon
Musk’s.
The full piece is well worth a read, as it delves into all the events of the night Chao died — as well as the conspiracy theories that sprung up in the wake of her death. Unfortunately, it can’t explain the details of how to figure out Tesla’s dumb touchscreen shifter. You’re on your own for that one.
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