Tesla to update interior door handles amid safety concerns
After years of complaints, safety concerns and four fatalities, Elon Musk’s Tesla is rethinking one of the most controversial parts of its cars.
Tesla is rethinking one of its most controversial components after years of complaints and safety concerns.
The EV giant has copped criticism from owners and regulators over a door handle design flaw which has left occupants trapped and, in severe cases, caused fatalities.
Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, revealed on Bloomberg’s Hot Pursuit! podcast that the company is now working on a redesign that combines its mechanical and electronic interior door handle into one system.
MORE: Wild EV ‘trying to kill pedestrians’
He said the change “makes a lot of sense” and would make it more intuitive for passengers to operate during “a panic situation”.
If you sit inside a Tesla, you’ll notice the electronic and mechanical door-opening systems are entirely separate.
That means under normal conditions, passengers can exit the vehicle by pressing the button to unlock the door electronically.
This button uses a 12-volt battery – not the high-voltage battery used to drive the car – to allow occupants to exit the vehicle at the press of a button.
If the 12V battery dies or gets disconnected after an impact, occupants must use a manual door release function to exit the vehicle quickly.
This manual release lever is often tricky to locate, and in some Tesla models it’s only fitted to the front doors, meaning back seat passengers will need to scramble to the front to exit the car.
Tesla’s Model 3 (2017-2023) online manual confirms there’s no manual release fitted to the rear doors, noting: “only the front doors are equipped with a manual door release.”
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2024 onward have been updated to include a manual door release cable in the rear doors.
MORE: ‘Fastest car ever’ hits Aussie roads
Franz’s comments come after Bloomberg uncovered 140 complaints relating to Tesla’s doors getting stuck, not opening, or otherwise malfunctioning since 2018.
The issue has been linked to alarming instances where passengers have become trapped inside burning vehicles.
On October 24, 2024, four people died in a Tesla Model Y after the vehicle crashed into a barrier and caught fire in Toronto. Reports indicated that the car’s electronic opening mechanism stopped working following the crash, which prevented the occupants from exiting the vehicle.
MORE: Huge change to how we use Uber
Recently, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into about 174,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles after receiving complaints about the door handle becoming inoperative.
NHTSA said it has received nine reports from parents who were unable to open the doors of 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles to gain access to their cars. And in four of these cases, parents had to break a window to regain entry.
Tesla isn’t the only carmaker to be facing scrutiny when it comes to door handles.
China recently announced that it will consider banning power-operated handles that sit flush with car doors, following a series of similar incidents that left drivers trapped inside due to a battery fault.
In one case, an electric door handle motor froze, preventing passengers from escaping and causing them to miss a critical rescue opportunity.
And in the same year, during Guangdong’s rainy season, heavy storms short-circuited door handles on some vehicles, forcing passengers to break their car windows to escape.
