Toddler dressed as Tinkerbell was stuck in Tesla in Tampa for almost two hours: ‘It was terrifying’

TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa Mom said Halloween got off to a very scary start after her young toddler was stuck in her Tesla for almost two hours after the vehicle’s doors unexpectedly locked.

Dakota Knox said she strapped her 18-month-old daughter Salem into her car seat in her Tesla around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Immediately after closing the rear passenger door, her husband tried to open the driver’s door.

“He says, ‘the door won’t open. The door won’t open. I don’t understand. I try the app and the handle doesn’t work,'” Knox said.

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All the doors of the vehicle were suddenly locked. And Salem – in her green Tinkerbell costume – was strapped into her car seat.

“I was terrified. My child was screaming. She was terrified,” Knox said.

The manual key would not open the vehicle, Knox said. Restarting the Tesla app did nothing. And despite the vehicle itself being fully charged, none of the doors opened.

“We don’t really know what’s going on,” Knox said. ‘This is strange. This has never happened before.’

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It turned out to be the vehicle’s 12-volt battery, which powers the vehicle’s door locks, for example. Knox said she and her husband tried to jump the 12-volt battery, but again, nothing worked.

Knox contacted Tesla and said the staff told her they couldn’t send someone to help until the afternoon. So she was relieved when three officers from the Tampa Police Department showed up.

“They were so calm and watching YouTube videos. We all try to Google things,” Knox said.

According to Knox, they had figured out a way to manually open the doors of her Tesla Model 3, but it was near the front seats. So the Tampa police officers slipped a piece of equipment through the barely opened rear window.

“We had to go from the back seat to the front seat. And luckily the police officers were able to release the hook and open the door,” Knox said. “We all cheered.”

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Knox said her daughter was trapped in the locked Tesla for nearly two hours.

The Tampa mom told FOX 13 she usually gets alerts and updates on any Tesla issues, a feature she really likes about the company. But she said she didn’t get a notification that her 12-volt battery needed to be replaced until around 12:15 p.m., which is about five hours after the battery died.

That’s why she’s now sharing her story to spread awareness among other parents. She also hopes that Tesla will take a closer look.

“It seems to be a problem where you can’t get out of it, and they don’t have an override mechanism,” Knox said. “I loved our Tesla so far. This was terrifying.”

FOX 13 has reached out to Tesla’s press team, but we have not heard back yet.

Whether you drive electric or not, experts recommend replacing the battery of your car – which powers things like the vehicle’s locks and electrical systems – every three years.

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