An Oakland father says his Tesla Cybertruck’s rear passenger door suddenly swung open as he merged onto a Highway 24 onramp in Orinda, with his one-year-old daughter strapped into a rear-facing car seat just inches away. The child stayed in her seat and was unharmed, but the incident has stoked fresh local concern about the truck’s door hardware and Tesla’s post-sale fixes.
Owner took his fear straight to federal safety regulators
The owner, identified in coverage as Viral Shah, reported that the Cybertruck’s left-rear door unlatched and swung open while he was driving onto the Highway 24 ramp. Shah later filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and turned over documents about the encounter, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tesla offered to buy back the truck, with strings attached
According to documents cited in local reporting, Tesla responded by offering to repurchase Shah’s Cybertruck for $117,609. The buyback paperwork, however, required him to agree not to sue as a condition of the deal. Shah filed his NHTSA complaint in September 2024 and later brought the truck to a Tesla service center for inspection, records that were detailed by The Oaklandside.
Loose latch hardware spotted in photos and service records
A service invoice from Tesla’s Berkeley center listed the left rear door as damaged and documented an inspection of the latch area. Photos shared with reporters showed at least one screw had dropped into a hole and another was loose at the driver-side latch. Telemetry engineer Sam Abuelsamid told reporters that the likely problem was improperly welded ‘weld-nuts’ that can break free, potentially allowing latch hardware to loosen. Those details and expert commentary were reported by The Oaklandside.
Incident lands in the middle of growing Cybertruck scrutiny
Shah’s case comes on the heels of a string of Cybertruck complaints and several recalls that have already drawn federal attention. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that NHTSA is gathering information after multiple high-profile crashes, including a November 2024 collision in Piedmont that killed three people, and that drivers have filed numerous complaints about doors and other hardware.
What Tesla drivers are told to check and how to respond
Tesla’s owner manual advises drivers to switch on child locks whenever a child is seated in a rear seat and notes that the Cybertruck will automatically lock once it exceeds low speeds. Owners are encouraged to confirm that child-safety settings are enabled and that any recent service work is documented. If you notice latching problems, the guidance is simple: photograph the condition, keep copies of all service invoices and consider filing a report with NHTSA so the agency can track any emerging patterns. For step-by-step instructions, see Tesla's owner manual.
For now, Shah’s documents and the service records add one more detailed case to a vehicle already facing intense scrutiny, and regulators will decide whether one-off fixes, buybacks or a broader remedy are warranted. In the meantime, Cybertruck owners are being reminded to double-check door latches, child-safety settings and any open recall notices before they hit the road.
