wife was in cal (vandenberg AB) for business. co-worker had the option to rent a Polestar 2 for $50/day or a gas-hole for $200/day. Hotel was 60 miles from the base. Let's just say, they both got a demonstration of the reality of range anxiety and electric charging.
The WSJ article that is linked in the NY Post article is very good. One of things it states is that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to open a door in a submerged car (probably until the water pressure is equalized in the car, right?).
Many drivers mistakenly think that they should try to open their door if their car becomes immersed in water, said Gordon Giesbrecht, a senior scholar at University of Manitoba who studies vehicle-submersion deaths. Due to the pressure of the water, it would be nearly impossible to open a submerged car door.
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/ange...d=hp_lead_pos7
I do think that cars should have obvious door releases -- I'm not familiar with Teslas at all, but that should be something that doesn't take a manual to figure out.
You are correct in that you are not going to able to open the door. Even with the pressure equalized you still have to push through the mass of the water in front of the door. Water is death when you are in a box. Best bet is to get a window open either through function or force and escape. It really doesn’t matter that it was an EV.
I think my best bet is avoiding submerging a box. Accidents happen. And to many people depend on the safety features of side curtain air bags to make breaking the window in the seconds that you can hold a breath for your life. To understand open the window even if it’s hand cranked.