On the evening of February 10, 2024, Angela Chao was celebrating the Lunar New Year with friends at her Johnson City ranch.[12] As her guests began going home, at around 11:30 p.m., she got into her Tesla Model X SUV and accidentally backed into a pond. The car began sinking, and Chao was unable to open her door or break the glass as the car filled with water. Chao was on the phone for eight minutes as the car sank, from around 11:42 to 11:50 p.m., telling her friend she was going to die.[12] Onlookers called 911 and attempted to help. Blanco County emergency personnel arrived around midnight and tried to extricate her from the submerged car.[12]
A deputy broke the driver's door window, found Chao, and dragged her to shore. EMS workers delivered "advanced life support" for 43 minutes but were unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m. on February 11; she was 50 years old.[12] A March 2024 police investigation concluded that Chao "had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.233 grams per 100 milliliters, above the legal limit in Texas of .08 grams per 100 milliliters". The investigation also concluded that Chao's death was the result of an accident.[12][8][13][2][14] The design of the Tesla Model X's reverse gear has been previously criticized by some users as confusing.[15]