Hertz put a first-time EV driver in a Tesla that was half dead, then tried to hold her financially accountable for getting stranded on the side of the road.
Now that EVs are filling out rental fleets around the U.S., drivers are going through an adjustment period full of hazards and inconveniences. A mother and daughter from Gurnee, Illinois, became trapped inside of a Tesla from Hertz, which the company rented out to them in lieu of an ICE-equipped sedan the woman had reserved in advance. After the dead Tesla stranded them, Hertz tried to put the woman on a do-not-rent list, despite being responsible for much of the trouble, as the woman tells CBS News.
When Becky Liebau and her daughter arrived to the Hertz counter, they were told the only car left on the rental lot was a Tesla. Liebau had never driven an EV; she had booked a reservation for a gas-powered car, but rental companies are notorious for taking reservations though not holding onto them. According to Liebau, this was around closing time and she had no other choice but to take the Tesla, which appears to have been a Model 3 based on the CBS report:
Disaster ensued for the mother and daughter, who had booked the trip to scope out prospective colleges for the 16-year old scholar. We could easily say this was due to driver error, but it’s not that simple. User error figures into the problems that left the woman and teenager stranded, but the onus rests on Hertz now that it’s bolstered its rental fleet with over 50,000 EVs. Especially when dealing with first-time EV drivers like Liebau.
And it’s not like it was for lack of trying on the part of the mother and daughter. Liebau says her daughter tried getting up to speed on the Tesla EV, going on the internet to learn how to to operate the fully-electric car.
Hertz had given the pair an EV that was reportedly under 50 percent state of charge. The Tesla showed approximately 90 miles of range left, which may have been enough to get Liebau and her daughter to a charger. Hertz, however, did not provide them with an adapter to use charging stations that don’t conform to Tesla’s charging standard. Hertz later suggested these adapters are often targeted by thieves. It’s hard to see why that matters, or why Hertz would mention this — other than to suggest it was acting in its own best interest.
The Tesla’s tires were also low on air and would have benefitted from a top up. What Hertz basically did was hand Liebau the keys to a less than half-charged EV with low tire pressure and a missing adapter for use at nearby chargers. The Tesla went dead as Liebau searched for a charging station, trapping the two inside the cabin. Liebau and her daughter had no idea how to get out of the dead EV, and their phones were running out of battery, too. Again, that’s user error, but no one at Hertz explained the proper procedures to Liebau.
No roadside assistance came from Hertz. The two were eventually towed by a driver they had tracked down on their own, who taught them to override the electric door locks. They were taken to a hotel nearby, and had to pay one of the maintenance workers there for a ride across the state.
Presumably, back to their home. A hefty bill was waiting for them, as Hertz tried to pin the blame on Liebau. She refused to pay the invoices, and the company put her on a do-not-rent list. Hertz only happened to reverse course after CBS investigators reached out to the company. CBS says that Hertz has now refunded all charges and has reimbursed Liebau for the expenses she incurred.
Rental companies should try putting some stickers inside the vehicle which indicate where the manual door release is. It wouldn’t cost much and would at least save people unfamiliar with Teslas from getting trapped like this.
Or maybe the damn door release should work regardless of power? I shouldn't need special training to get out of a car in an emergency. Making an interior "manual release" that is hidden just seems like dangerously negligent design.
he was burned alive in his car cause couldn't operate the ridiculously complicated door
Oh he should’ve just watched this 10-minute tutorial on how to open the door on YouTube after crawling to either the front seat or trunk!
If you use the manual door release in Teslas it can apparently damage the trim when you close the door again. Wonderfully designed cars.
I have trouble believing any engineer was part of that decision. The default is always human safety. Hotel doors electronic locks will disengage during a blackout, elevators will stop in place rather than introduce a new risk by moving the humans further, your seatbelt is still uncomfortable and will always be and keep you alive, if an industrial machine senses danger the solution is too cut power to anything that moves.
Electricity is less reliable than a human, and if the human is dead it won't matter how the door is opened.
To be fair, most modern frameless window cars have this issue and also roll down the window just a bit when opening and closing the door.
To be fair, those are also terribly designed cars if that requires power and doesn't work with a manual release.
Then why single out this specific company? I get that their public leader is being controversial and doing stupid/terrible things, but it's more helpful and honest to talk about actual problems with their vehicles, such as the data privacy issues that have been uncovered over the past ~year. This artificially decreases their standing when compared to their competitors, and those guys really don't deserve this benefit.
I didn't.
The stickers have been prone to theft, so they don’t like to replace them very often. They’re saving some time and money so you don’t have to.
Who steals already applied stickers? Vandalism, sure, but theft?
Hertz customers who had to pay a $500 deposit on a debit card just to be able to rent the car that might not be there after paying the rental fees.
The driver and passenger manual door releases are literally in the most intuitive spot (in a Model 3 and Y at least, I haven't been in an S or X to compare myself). So much so that I have issues with most new passengers trying to use that instead of the actual button that's out in the open and very conspicuous on the top of the door arm rest, to open the door on my 3.
Even if someone is oblivious enough or has never opened a variety of car doors in their life to think of where a manual lever might possibly be located, and not find it on the door, it's not that hard for someone to just Google it with the magic box we all carry now in our pocket/purse.
Even then though, how does someone run out of charge completely without noticing? The damned vehicle works just like an ICE, it tells you when it's low. If you're navigating somewhere it will even tell you whether you need to charge on the way, or if you need to slow down because you don't have enough charge at a higher speed to make it. For fuck's sake, it will even navigate you straight to the closest charger, you just have to tap okay on the screen. The article says they ran out of charge while searching for a charger. 80 miles of range when they picked it up... And they used it all searching for a charger... The car has a button on screen to show all nearby Tesla chargers. Any Hertz location renting EVs will be for sure within 90 miles of a Supercharger. This is 100% on the driver, sorry.
So many articles regarding EVs just give stupid people a free pass for having no common sense, instead shifting blame to the vehicle or a company instead of just calling a person out for being an idiot.
Okay, I know this is going to personally offend you, but stupid people are allowed to have a life and do things in public. People with cognitive or executive disabilities are also allowed to rent a car. People with ASDs, people that come from an anti-tech religious family, people who have difficulty transferring knowledge from a familiar domain to an unfamiliar one even though it seems like it's trivial to you -- all sorts of people are allowed to use commercial services and expect reasonable accommodation. Honestly, I don't even understand half the shit you just said, and I wouldn't expect someone who's never been exposed to an EV and is stupid etc to be able to deal with it on the fly while other stressful shit that happens when you travel is also going on.
Anyone who thinks even minor changes to a common user control system are easy should watch the average user when given a phone with a new OS for the first time and told to change a setting (lifetime iOS user -> android or vis versa).
I don't think I will ever buy a new car.
I love my Tesla… but it isn’t clear to new drivers where they can and can’t charge, without some research. I can easily see someone assuming it works like a gas station and that they are all interchangeable.
How can you claim it's not clear where to charge?This may have been true years ago with older interface versions, but not in the current interface. At least not on the Model 3/Y with horizontal screens. Not sure how the S/X with the vertical screens and separate dash cluster change the interface. But the vehicle in the article is a Model 3.
Even if you ignore the dedicated supercharger button on the right of the map, which can be hidden, the screen literally shows the navigation search box ALL the time on top of the map. When you tap on it one of the top suggested options is for charging, even without having to type anything in, and shows you all the nearby superchargers.
Things that are intuitive for you are obviously not intuitive for people who have to watch a bunch of YouTube tutorials to understand how the car works.
I think it's probably the case of it being intutive for them now that they've used it. Once one gets used to a process or device it becomes intitutive for them. So it can look strange when people who aren't familar with said device are struggling. e.g. riding a bike is easy once you know how. At least that's what it looks like to me.
Even if you are completely right about everything being as simple as you say, nobody wakes up and says "gee, I'm going to be stupid/self-destructive/neurodivergent today and cause myself a lot of pain."
The answer is to use it as a case study to improve the design or perhaps provide a leaflet, QR code to a PDF, or a laminated card to assist renters with controls that are safety critical or unique to the vehicle
You'd think someone so clearly dealing with massive social challenges would have more empathy, but perhaps that is part of his deficiency.
The Car: The battery is low please go to this place I've mapped out for you to charge up.
The driver: DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO
From the article:
"and a missing adapter for use at nearby chargers. The Tesla went dead as Liebau searched for a charging station,"
It sounds like they did try to charge it. It sounds like they couldn't use the nearby charging locations without the adapter.
Anything I am familiar with is simple and easy to understand. Anyone who does not know what I know is an idiot.
Thank you, I agree. I have enough brain cells to type this comment and believe that I’m self-aware.
Even if we ignore EVERYTHING in the vehicle itself that will help you charge the car... How hard it it to pull out your phone and search for "electric vehicle charger". I'm sure the first result is going to be Google or Apple Maps telling you how to get to a charger.
Even if we ignore that and just talk about not being able to get out because the battery is completely dead... The manual door release is in a normal spot where many other non-Tesla vehicles put their door latches. It's not hard to find, nearly every first time passenger in my Model 3 tries to open the door with that instead of the normal button to pop it open automatically so it clearly is an intuitive location.
Here's a picture of exactly where it is and how it works, for those that have never been in a Tesla. It's not hidden at all.
I'm sorry, apparently expecting a person to be able to type "car charger" into a search box, or either taping on the charger icon on the display or tapping on the navigate search bar and then "charging" to show nearby chargers is apparently too much to expect of someone with a driver's license.
They couldn't use a normal charger because they didn't have an adapter. Apparently no one told them that they needed to find a Tesla charger. And did Tesla run out of color when they created that door knob? I wouldn't even try to pull on that part of the button cluster.
There really isn't a "normal" charger since there are several different standards that have been used both in the US and worldwide. If you really want to go there and try to get pedantic about it though, the "Tesla" charger is now the North American Charging Standard. The standard that everyone is switching to, where other manufacturers are going to be providing adapters to their existing customers with old CCS plugs since new models will use the same Tesla connector and those old chargers won't work on the new models going forward anyway.
They also apparently didn't think of looking for anything on the screen inside the vehicle itself that will literally navigate you to the closest charger either. Or look anything up on Google on their phone about it either. They just let the battery completely drain while driving around without trying to do anything to find a charger it seems.
Having a door with a very obvious, ergonomic mechanical handle that just opens the fucking door is very intuitive also.
You're right. That's exactly why the manual release in an intuitive place where many other vehicles have their handles. It's not hidden or behind some sort of panel or anything. It's right there.
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/images/GUID-3E788A87-9F37-487E-ABB0-82FD910F6B90-online-en-US.png
I own a Tesla and it's not even remotely intuitive. Most people who have ridden in my car have a hard time figuring out how to get in/out of it.
And I have had the exact opposite experience with most new people in my Model 3. So apparently annecdotal evidence is useless here.
Clearly every other random commenter here knows best about everything related to a Tesla because they can read a headline and comment on the internet.
I’d like to say “oh, I see, thanks!" But that isn’t where any vehicle I know of has a handle. Every other car I’ve ever seen has them horizontally on the door, not where the power window controls are.
they should be further towards the rear of the door to help you check over your shoulder when exiting the vehicle
the Tesla setup is just plain ole dumb
I would never have guessed that could be lifted.
Yeah... I'd never think of a door handle being there or being so tiny. That said, I'd fiddle with everything I saw until the door opened.
That's honestly not an issue 99% of the time unless you WAY outside civilization. That still leaves he entire Tesla supercharger network to use, which is and mapped directly into the car's navigation interface and automatically used by the vehicle to let you know when and where to charge.
If you're using the in-car navigation it will automatically include stops at Superchargers as needed to reach your destination. It even notifies you if you're navigating to an area outside outside the range of the supercharger network based on your current charge level.
Even if we assume they totally ignored the in-car navigation on the big screen smack dab in the middle of the damned dashboard... Google maps includes EV charging info now for all the major charging networks.
Tesla's software does A LOT to help prevent you from running out of charge. The only way it happens is if you ignore it all, or there's a hardware issue with the vehicle, which doesn't seem was the case here.
Captain Hertz over here
Elong Hurts
As someone who has never been in an ev, FUCK YOU
These are the most common things people shit on. If you don't like Tesla I totally get it. Some of the quality issues and design issues are obnoxious. The CEO is very publicly an asshole manchild. There's plenty to hate. Yet somehow it's always the same 3 talking points of:
Each of these is immediately revealed as silly when you use one or even just Google people talking about their experiences outside of all the headlines complaining about doors. The vast majority of people need less than a few seconds to figure out the manual release, most do it by accident and the car tells them to stop. The car actively tries to get you to charge it with increasingly dire warnings and mitigations as you get closer to zero. EVs catch fire less often than gas cars.
Examples and sources:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/you-are-wrong-about-ev-fires
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/has-anyone-found-a-product-to-stop-people-from-pulling-the-manual-open-tesla-keeps-track-how-mandoor.154627/
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/what-happens-when-your-tesla-dies.html
I hate Teslas, but I looked up a video and you're completely right. Some people are too stupid to function.