Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law Angela Chao made panicked last call before dying in ‘completely submerged’ Tesla on Texas ranch: report

If anyone's curious, it looks like you "hold the brake and swipe up" on a touchscreen area to go in drive, and "hold the brake and swipe down" to go into reverse.

So yeah, it's not a physical shifter, though it seems pretty intuitive and simple. BUT if you're in reverse and try to swipe up to drive(like you'd do during a 3 point turn) , you have no feedback aside from looking at the screen to let you know it actually registered your shift.

IMO this is another idiotic implementation at going cheap on physical controls or "being high tech fancy" that shouldn't exist. It's dumb to not have important functions give physical feedback while driving. I'm not laying most of the blame on tesla for this. It still sounds like she's the one who really screwed herself, but I'd all but guarantee there's going to be a lawsuit for this one, and rightly so. Fuck all this touch control crap in cars. It's lousy enough just on the radios.

Don't forget the fancy electric door handles that stop working when you back into a pond.

There are emergency override handles, but not everyone knows where they are or how to use them, so they're not all that useful in an emergency.

These deadly features are purely cosmetic, so I would lay a decent amount of blame is on tesla
- Stupid cosmetic designs have been an issue for a long time. There was a theater fire in Chicago in the early 1900's where a bunch of people died because they couldn't figure out how to use the fancy door handles while panicking and being crushed by everyone trying to get out. That's the reason why exit doors on buildings with a high occupancy are now required to swing out, and have those pushbar locks that allow the door to open even if you're just falling on it.
  
  If it's possible that someone will need to use something while panicking, it needs to be as simple, intuitive, and failproof as possible
- If I had my way, regulations would require a physical connection for all door handles, and not just that a secondary physical release be available. I don't know how you would go about finding injuries associated with each design as a layperson, but I bet there's a death or two associated with each novel design.
  
  An old man roasted in his Cadillac XLR because the battery was dead and he didn't know where the secondary release was. I think it's under the seat on that car. I don't care how cool that electronic door release was, or if the old man was negligent in not knowing his exits; it wasn't worth his life.
- I love how they made the emergency door release a multi step process, which on some models recommended a flat head screwdriver or in others only is for the front doors.
- This would be at least the second time this "feature" has been tied to dying horribly.
- The front driver and passenger emergency handles are so intuitively placed that every Tesla owner has to warn all their passengers not to use them.
  
  The back is another story entirely if they even have them, but the front are fine.
  
  Edit: I will grant people might forget after not using them for years in a moment of panic. But they know.
- I thought you couldn't open normal doors underwater anyway due to water pressure so the recommendation is to kick out your windshield. Do newer cars have doors that open more easily underwater?
- I do have to find these but ….
  
  you don’t need the mechanical backup if you open the door immediately
  
  mechanical backup can’t help with unequal pressure while you’re sinking
  
  who the heck would think of that while underwater in a car full of water?
  
  IMO, the real answers are:
  
  Train people to open windows when they go into the water and expect to swim out. There ought to be power long enough to do this
  
  Make sure there is a window breaker securely mounted someplace obvious
  
  I don’t know if I’d do any better in a panic, but I really ought to get window breakers for all my family’s cars
- These deadly features are purely cosmetic
  
  No, electronic door handles are not cosmetic, they save a lot more lives than than they kill by people drowning or burning alive in their car because they are too stupid to read their cars manual.
  
  Since you apparently do not know this, the purpose of electronic door handles is for the car to be able to lock you out from opening the door if there is a car or bicycle approaching from behind in your blind spot. That's why you only see them in cars with blind spot radars
  
  That being said, Teslas design is still terrible. In Audis the electronic door handle doubles up as the mechanical emergency door handle, you just need to pull on it harder than normal and it will engage the manual mechanism
Anton Yelchin was also done in by a not too dissimilar feature. The gear shift of his vehicle returned to a "neutral position" after shifting so unless you looked at the letter indicator you may not realize what gear you're in.
- I have the same annoyance with my prius. It's a physical shifter you move, but it electronically shifts and the shifter always goes back to the same spot. If I try shifting in a hurry it won't register every so often.
- That's however not a good comparison because you still have a physical "way" of feeling where you are shifting to. I never had an issue with shifters that return to neutral, even in very high stress situations.
  
  Touch controls are however a very different thing, because you have absolutely no indication if you actually shifted or not.
  
  In fact, Ive had various cars now with return to neutral shifters - the new Mazda CX-60/70/80/90 don't have this and I happend to shift in neutral, simply resting my hand on the shifter...
That is the worst idea ever. When I drove a snow plow I would shift from forward to reverse and back hundreds of times a storm. Without taking my eyes off my surroundings.
But bro, you'll save like $0.87 per car by not including a physical gearshifter. Won't anyone think of the poor shareholders footing that bill.
It's simple but it's not easy, because it's complex.

If there's anything we've learned in human history of engineering and design it's that complexity kills when relying on human nature to control.
Swiping up to drive is the same direction as tap up to reverse from a previous model Tesla. Kind of like how trackpads and mouse scroll wheels work in opposite directions. I can see how it’s not so intuitive if the direction contradicts 35 years of muscle memory.
Even a button shift. Literally just a row of buttons, select your gear by pressing it. Reverse would be under a safety cover so you don't hit it at 60mph.
- Or, you just have logic in the car's software that stops you from shifting to reverse over 5mph.
How’s that any different?

My current Tesla has a stalk to click up/down to go into reverse/drive, but I always verify before taking my foot off the brake

my Subaru had a physical shifter on the console to move forward or back to a specific selection , but I always verified by taking my foot off the brake

I used to have a Pontiac with a shifter stalk on the steering wheel that I move to a specific selection, but I always verified before taking my foot off the brake
- There's over 300 people here who seem to agree with me. Then there's you.

I find it hard to talk badly of anyone who had just died, whether or not they were related to Mitch McConnell. That was a horrible way to go.

But, if it turns out the Tesla design was at fault, then we may be watching one of the few families who have enough resources to challenge Elon Musk get medieval on his ass. Which would be fun to watch, even if did take a tragedy to start all off.

Their family is not a "loving family" that normal people would imagine. These are conservatives who lack the capacity for empathy and do not feel kindness or love for one another. Their relationships are transactional.

If they sue, it will only be because they see an opportunity for profit. Not because they want to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
- I disagree, it's important to note that Conservatives love their families, too. They are not inhuman.
  
  And their love of their family can, for some, feed into their racism. Their families are successful and they may attribute that to genetics. People with inferior genetics can't really help themselves, can they? They need a ruling class to make the important decisions for them.
  
  You're right though, if they sue it won't be to prevent this from happening to anyone else. It will be for revenge and punishment. Profit is a side motive here. They might pour an excessive amount into any lawsuit just for revenge.
- My family and most people I know are poor, and this is also how they function. Even the "side" pieces.
- If it's about money for them, they may see a payday incoming. At the very least, the insurance company that had a life insurance policy out on her might have a thing or two to say to Muskrat. I cannot imagine how much money they are going to be paying out.
The level of glee here over a death is kind of appalling. Yeah, she was a billionaire, so was Steve Jobs. Related by marriage to Mitch does not make her responsible for Mitch's garbage decisions. I'm sure she has family and friends who are devastated. I had not heard anything about her existence before this, but even if she's a bad person she's still a human and drowning is an awful way to die.
- I came close to drowning as a kid and I don't think it would be all that bad of a way to go.

Wow, he referenced her death in his retirement statement, but I just assumed it was age related because... well... look at them.

Always remember, if your car goes in the water, you CAN'T open your door until the pressure equalizes. You have pounds of water pushing against the door, keeping it closed.

Mythbusters went over this... Undo your seat belt and let the water IN. When there's enough water inside, open the door.

Shortly after Mythbusters did that bit. They were directly credited with saving a trucker's life. He crashed into a lake. His window didn't work but he had a manual roof vent, which he was able to open to equalize the pressure. He said he would have never done that if he hadn't seen the episode because of how scary it was to watch the water pour into his cab.

Spelling
- Adam Savage has said that that was the most terrifying myth they've tested, and I'm pretty sure even with all of their divers and support crew he thought he was going to die.
This is a Tesla right? Those door handles are electric, so you need to hope the cars electrics hold and not short. Or you can find the emergency release in the door pocket.
- you can find the emergency release in the door pocket.
  
  Not without some training first. They are inexplicably hidden. I imagine Elon laughing aloud when he reads of people drowning in Teslas, frantically trying to figure out how to escape.
- I've heard they have some manual door latch backups? do you know if they'd be affected as well?
Helicopter Egress Training they actually have you keep your seat belt(s) on until the cabin is filled with water, pressure equalized, AND door/window opened. The reason is, to push a door or window open you need a solid "foundation" and if you're unstrapped floating in water you may only push your body away.
A road vehicle has a smaller cabin and more hand/foot holds, but I thought it worth mentioning.
- I think the reason they mention it is, in a car full of water, it would be an easy thing to forget, then if you get the door open, you panic because you still can't get out.
Top gear also did this and their results were pretty much just get out of the car as soon as you know you're going in the water.
- Yes. There are three phases to going into the water. Getting out before pressure builds, waiting for pressure equalization or creating it, and getting out after pressure equalizes.
  
  There's a lot of situations where you will not have time to get the door open, like busting a turn rail and flying into the water. Obviously if you're going in slowly and can't stop it, (Like a slick boat ramp pulling a truck in.), just get out early.
Better yet, smash the front wind shield (after seatbelt is off or cut) to get out sooner
- The windshield won't break like that. Only the passenger windows would break and come apart
- Smash anything but a windshield. I've needed to violently remove a windshield when replacing it (time was running out and tool shops were closed). Wearing protective glasses and pushing with both legs is what it took to somewhat loosen it, but not immediately remove it. Windshields are a multilayer structure of plastic and glass. Side windows are just glass.

They should have used the Tesla Rock that broke the Tesla Trucks window

This is horrifying. A manual window breaking device that is part of the interior of the car should be standard by now. It wouldn't be that difficult to design. This is not a Tesla exclusive problem.

I never actually thought about this, but you're right. Wtf isn't this a standard, and part of saftey scores?

For some cars you can remove the head rest and use the metal prongs, but it's still probably not as good as an actual purpose built punch.
Doesn't seem there's a tool available for breaking laminated glass. Which is also terrifying but I do understand why the DOT mandated the switch.
In most cars I would say use the headrest, but my assumption on that the trasla.did something dumb to make those not useful either.

Tragic way to die. I wouldn’t wish this even on my worst enemies.

We all watch the videos of how to deal with this exact situation but in reality only a few people would be able to react accordingly to save themselves.

The article describes the area of water as a “pond” but the vehicle was fully submerged. Rescuers had trouble with rescue attempts due to the depth. Seems more like a lake to me.

"there is no technical difference between lakes and ponds, according to the National Park Service. While the distinction between lakes and ponds can be a bit blurry, there are some general guidelines. For example, if sunlight can reach the bottom of the entire body of water, it's generally considered a pond, according to the National Park Service. Conversely, if the body of water is deep enough in some places that sunlight cannot penetrate it, it's generally considered a lake.

When it comes to size, though, there are no exact guidelines. Ponds are generally smaller than lakes, but there's no universal standard. That means some things we call a pond might be considered a lake by some. And some lakes may be more pond-like to some people."

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/whats-the-difference-lake-vs-pond/
- A few years back, a woman drove her car into a small retaining pond off a highway and 2 of the kids in the car drowned. Everyone was amazed that a car could be completely submerged in such a small pond. Those suckers are deep!
  https://www.twincities.com/2013/11/28/st-louis-park-drowning-accident-spurs-questions-about-retention-ponds/
- Actually there is a definition, from my old environmental engineering textbook:
  
  A lake is any body of water deep enough to submerge a Tesla Model S
but in reality only a few people would be able to react accordingly to save themselves.

It should frankly happen by design. Humans can't be expected to let the water in while submerged, that takes will and under stress it's hard to think.

Say, have pressure sensors outside which would open some small windows, I don't know.
I appreciate this. I'm astounded by the callous lack of empathy of some of these other comments.
- Being terminally online causes a huge distortion in one's sense of empathy and justice

Imagine the crazy conspiracy shit if this was how Musk forced McConnell to retire by forcing her Tesla into the water, or some other crazy reason.

That's some James Bond villain bullshit.
- Putin forced Musk to force McConnell to retire and endorse Trump
- Or Kennedy bullshit.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident
I dont approve of his billionaire-helping policy, but I do approve of his billionaire-killing policy!

Oh no

Anyway, I’m going to Vegas later this week to get messy with my friends for my 40th. Anyone have any recommendations for places to hit?

Stromboli at 4 kegs.

Super sketch building and parking lot.

Red vinyl booths and decor not updated since Elvis was a teenager truck driver.

Bartenders who've seen the hard times.

Open 24/7

Drinking

Smoking

Gambling

High likelihood of hepatitis A, B, C and as of yet unknown variants

And the best fucking stromboli this side of the Gambino family

http://www.fourkegs.com/

Also, your first stop out of the Vegas airport should always be for early morning drinks at the Double Down Saloon. I'll let you figure out that that gem of a property on your own.
- Why would you ever pay to drink in Vegas? Head immediately to the Rite Aid and get alcohol like everyone else. Or go to any sports betting section in a casino. Drinks are free.
"Remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. That shit'll come back with you."
Check out Omega Mart at Area 15
- Yep! Have tickets for that already. Very excited.
Golden Tiki is an excellent bar. That whole area has great food too.

And if you know anything about Meow Wolf, their third location is a short ride away. It's called Omega Mart. It's fine to go in drunk but it's better to start sober and get drinks at their bar.
- We have our meow wolf tickets! Plan is exactly to go in sober (maybe high already) and stop at the bar.

Always carry a glass breaker in your car within reach of the drivers seat

New Teslas have laminated glass, not tempered glass. It does not shatter.

https://youtu.be/6tnEDH1HfD0?t=378
- So they're death traps
  
  Gotcha
- If I remember the MythBusters episode your only other options are to roll down the windows immediately and then start to exit or wait for the car to completely submerge and hope the electronics that control your windows and doors haven't failed.
My car’s headrests have a glass breaker tip at the bottom of the metal bars that you use to raise/lower them. I imagine this is standard in many modern-ish cars.
- New Teslas have laminated glass, not tempered glass. It does not shatter.
  
  https://youtu.be/6tnEDH1HfD0?t=378
- Apparently not in door gap, trunk lid pours water into car, discharged battery can't open rear passenger doors, Teslas.
- Those aren’t glass breakers, and you probably can’t shatter the glass with those. Car windows are incredibly strong.
Also, I’ve just learned that laminated glass is now mandatory across all models since 2020. Glass breakers won't save you.

https://lifelinerescuetools.com/blog/3397/
- And the world becomes ever so slightly more like Atlas Shrugged again

Mitch's sister in law died in a Tesla.

Mitch Endorses Trump.

Trump meets with Elon Musk.

Do I have the timeline correct?

theoretically it should be possible to remotely control a tesla. I'm not saying its murder, but did anyone check?
- The great thing about software is it can be programmed to leave no evidence.
  
  "The log says self driving was off"
  
  "The log says the computer controlled doors were unlocked"
  
  Who wrote that log? Yeah.
- This is one of the reasons I am hesitant to get any "digital car". I've read that government has backdoors to turn off engine or otherwise control cars.

I skimmed the headline too quickly when I saw "billionaire" and "panicked last call" then I thought she was somehow involved in insider trading for Tesla stock.

Annnnnd I'm becoming a worse person cuz this put a smile on my face. Honestly it's partially her fault for trusting Elon's company.

Would you say that if they died in a Ford? Chevy? Honda?
- I would still smile but I would not blame her for choosing a Honda. Tesla is special because Elon is special.

When your Tesla is on fire, or sinking, you can play a fun little game called "Find the manual door release"

Wait....

....there isn't one?
- There is, you just have to find it while the car sinks or the flames spread. It's not the normal button that a user might be accustomed to pushing to get out so they might not know where it is and finding it in time might be the difference between life and death. For front doors it's usually a lever somewhere but in some model Ys and the cybertruck the rear door release is hidden. under a mat in the door recess.

Im begining to think that billionares are just weak to water.

It's their magnetism.

It was cold out, so she decided to take her Tesla Model X SUV for the four-minute drive rather than walk.

It says everything.

A four-minute drive is like a 20-minute walk. If it was really that cold, I may have done the same thing.

The way you portray it, "it says everything," is not fair - and yes, I know we're talking about a billionaire. Like, she deserved to die because she didn't want to walk in the cold.

Her death shouldn't have happened the way it did. And again, yes, I know she's a billionaire, fuck billionaires, etc etc. But her mistake was her not being careful while driving, and potentially the car not being safe enough (e.g. doors jam-locked?)
- It's 100% Tesla's fault. Mechanical way to open doors is not obvious and hidden, sometimes all together missing. And car relies on power to open the door, which runs out when submerged. Shit car with shit ideas. There's a reason why windows easily shatter on cars and Musk and his cult followers seem to think getting out of car in case of emergency is less important than sounding cool.
- I agree with the sentiment that we shouldn't be praising people's deaths, but I want to point out the cold part
  
  Texas Hill Country loosely covers an area around Fredricksburg Texas with San Antonio and Austin being just on the outskirts. Looking back at the weather reports, and not knowing the exact location, the temperature on 2/10 was a low of 45-65 degrees F. Considering the lows typically come in in the late hours of the night the more realistic temperature was somewhere between 50-75 degrees F.
  
  Also, you can see the picture of the ranch in the article which also says it's a 900 acre ranch. 900 acres is only 1.4 sq miles. It's one thing to say a 4 min drive at 35 mph vs walking, but realistically it's a lot slower speed and thus a lot shorter walk.
- Yes, if it's cold, I will often make a 4-minute drive instead of walking 20 minutes from my guest house to my main house on my own property. It's so relatable to most Americans!
- Cold, in Texas? I mean, I'm sure it gets cold, but it's not Canada and people go on 20min walks in the dead of winter with their dogs there. Awful way to die, no question.

Oh no

Anyways

Billionaire Kryptonite recipe.

One part billionaire, one part Tesla, two parts billionaire tears. Shake well and douse with copious volumes of lake water. Chef's kiss

So......Tesla are the new way to kill persons now?

https://youtu.be/DOW_kPzY_JY?si=LnGluWbOl-iD_WOg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo

There seems to be a lot of conflicting info on this for example the Tesla model and what exactly caused it to go into the water. Either way, make sure that your vehicle is going the direction you desire before you start moving fast enough to cause an issue.

although, this probably wouldn't have happened if the user had physical feedback to feel whether the shifter moved how they wanted it to or not. Fuck tesla. The rescue crews also had issues with getting into the tesla that wouldn't have happened on most vehicles.

So anyway, let's say you have a story and one minute of the story the character is driving peacefully to get to Walmart, but 60 seconds later she is in her Tesla completely submerged making a phone call. Maybe searching what to do via Goo... duck duck go. Wouldn't it be interesting for the reader to know a little bit more about the story?

For example, what was she wearing? Was her mechanic's name Frank or Dave? Was the water cold? What did she need at Walmart anyway?

Forget about the part of how the car actually made it into the water. What about the part where it started sinking? Did it sink slowly? Nose first? Did she know that the sand on your shoes could fracture the glass if it had hard enough material? Again, let's not even talk about how the Tesla went from the road to underwater... pretty obvious...a gigantic alien picked it up and tossed it in the water.

Epstein didn't kill himself either.

If your car ever gets submerged, unbuckle your seatbelt, roll the windows down and once the water gets high enough in the car, you can open the door or climb through the window. This is pure panic from someone who should know better.

In an old car with crank windows, that'll work. In a new car, the electrics have to still be working, and in a Tesla the OS has to still be running.
- If you can't get the windows down before the water pressure seals them shut, it's still survivable without a glass breaker if you keep your wits about you and the car doesn't flip. You'd need to take a deep breath right before the interior completely fills with water and then just sit there until the pressure mostly equalizes. There was at least one reported case of someone in a submerged car specifically crediting their survival to Mythbusters successfully showing just that, but a variation of the scenario involving the car flipping while sinking into deeper water later proved to be much less survivable.
- That’s why you need to have an emergency hammer with a belt cutter inside the car. Preferably one near every seat.
- There is a mechanical emergency release on the doors. All my friends tend to find that if I don't preemptively tell them to press the button with the minus sign.
- I think in a car with electric motors if it were to back into a pond could still get maybe get the windows down before the 12 volt system shut down.