Transport Canada investigating after B.C. man trapped inside burning Tesla

Transport Canada says it is now in possession of a Tesla that suddenly lost power, seemingly rendering the doors inoperable, before bursting into flames.

It happened in North Vancouver on Friday, May 20.

Jamil Jutha told CTV News his car played an audio message with the words ‘Error, error, error’ before the vehicle completely shut down.

He attempted to use the buttons to open the door, and when that didn’t work, he tried to lower the windows – but that also failed.

As he contemplated what to do next, he smelled toxic smoke filling the cabin through the vents.

"Of course there's always going to be panic in a moment where you feel trapped. I kicked through the window, climbed out and called 911 right away,” Jutha said.

Moments after he escaped from the Model Y, which he purchased just eight months ago, thick black smoke began to billow from the car before it went up in flames.

Firefighters arrived a few minutes later and managed to extinguish the car fire relatively quickly.

District of North Vancouver firefighters and ICBC have their own investigations into the cause of the fire.

And now CTV News has learned Transport Canada has the burnt car – and questions for Tesla.

“The department also notified Tesla of the incident and has made arrangements for a joint inspection of the vehicle in an effort to determine the cause of the fire,” the agency said in a statement to CTV News.

“Everybody who owns this type of car is going to be very interested in what the results of the investigation are because it is frightening to think your car might suddenly catch fire,” said Tesla owner Michael Geller.

He owns the same model of Tesla that went up in flames with Jutha inside.

In the event of a loss of power, the doors do have an emergency release lever, but it is not clearly marked and because of its design it could be easy to miss in an emergency.

Jutha did not even know it existed, which Geller says doesn’t surprise him because he’s owned two Teslas and also had no idea there was a way to open the doors without using the electronic button.

After learning what happened to Jutha, he immediately went to YouTube to find an instructional video showing where the handle is and how to operate it.

He then shared that video on Twitter and agreed to do an interview with CTV News in the hopes of spreading awareness about the potentially life-saving feature.

“Hopefully, I can get everybody right now…to go out to their car and find that little handle because God forbid, one day they may need it,” Geller said.

The U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said it is also aware of the incident and has reached out to Tesla for more information.