By BERNARD CONDON, AP Business Writer

The parents of a college student killed in a Tesla crash say she was trapped in the vehicle as it burst into flames because of a design flaw that made it nearly impossible for her to open the door, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The parents of Krysta Tsukahara allege that the company that helped Elon Musk become the world’s richest man knew about the flaw for years and could have moved fast to fix the problem but did not, leaving the 19-year-old arts student trapped amid flames and smoke that eventually killed her.

The crash was in November 2024 in Piedmont, California. Another passenger and the driver also died .

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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