Rented an electric car but didn’t know how to use it, leaving mother and child stranded

Using unfamiliar cars can bring many people into a state of “laughing and crying” because they are not familiar with the car. This case is of a mother and daughter in America. He rented a Tesla Model 3 electric car, but didn’t know how to use it. Eventually the car’s battery ran out and they were stuck in the car.

Becky LeBeau told CBS 2 Chicago that when she rented it, she thought it was a normal gasoline car. But it turned out that the rental company brought the Tesla car and said that this was the only car they had left. “I’ve never driven an electric car and it’s not my first choice,” he said.

The tenant was not used to using electric cars, and the Tesla that was brought only had half the battery. Without instructions on how to find a charging station, how to charge, and no conversion cord (Tesla uses its own charging standard), she and her daughter got stuck on the side of the road with a stalled electric vehicle with low tires.

Not being accustomed to driving electric cars, LeBeau apparently did not know that the Tesla Model 3 had a physical door release mechanism. Both mother and daughter thought it was impossible to open the door. He called the company but no one picked up the phone. He also searched for how to use a Tesla online, but it seems he searched for keywords that didn’t hit the mark because it didn’t help his case.

Eventually, their phone battery was about to die, so they had to take out their laptops to get enough energy to call for help.

Eventually, mother and child crawled out of the trunk and out of the car. Rescue workers arrived and gave them instructions on how to open the car door. It was late at night, and there were no taxis left, so the mother and daughter had to rent a hotel to stay overnight. In the end, because of this case, LeBeau spent about 1,000 USD (24.2 million VND).

Not stopping here, the car rental company blacklisted him. Only when the press reported this, he apologized and returned the money.

In fact, even gasoline-powered cars are prone to getting stuck and not opening their doors. Most manufacturers come equipped with backup plans. The problem is that the rental company does not instruct the renter on how to drive the car, especially when it is not the car they want to rent. Renters themselves are also subjective and do not ask careful questions when using unfamiliar vehicles.

Faced with this ridiculous and tragic incident, netizens believe that fault lies on both sides. She believes that the rental company should stop hiring uncommitted employees, and also criticizes the poor way the mother and daughter handled the situation.

When a car doesn’t work, if you don’t know how to handle it, the easiest way is to call the company. If this does not work, contact the car manufacturer’s customer support center.

If that no longer works, go online and type keywords like “how to get out of a stalled Tesla…” into Google search, not the entire user manual. If you search for obscure information like mother and daughter, it is not strange that your phone battery will drain.

A person claiming to work for a car rental company wrote that, in fact, these types of customers are not rare. Therefore, he always makes sure to instruct customers on how to use the car, no matter what type of car it is, and whether the customer has experience or not.