Tesla Addresses Door Handle Safety Concerns: Redesign Planned to Prevent Trapping Incidents

Tesla is actively working on redesigning its car door handles to prevent people from getting trapped inside, according to chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. The announcement comes a day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into Tesla’s door handles, and a week following a report by Bloomberg News detailing several incidents where owners or passengers were stuck in their vehicles post-collision.

Von Holzhausen did not disclose when the decision to reevaluate the door handle design was made, as per Bloomberg. China has been encouraging automakers to reconsider fully concealed door handles due to safety concerns, although the country’s top regulatory body has yet to take any definitive action.

The two primary issues with Tesla’s current door handles are their reliance on electronic locks, which may malfunction if they aren’t receiving power from the car battery system, and the difficulty in locating and accessing manual door releases within the vehicles.

Von Holzhausen suggested combining the electronic and manual door release functions into a single button as a potential solution, stating that “this seems like a sensible approach.” He added that this is an area where Tesla is currently focused on development efforts.

The NHTSA investigation was initiated on Tuesday, following nine complaints from Tesla owners who encountered issues with their door handles. In four of these cases, the agency reported that the owners had to break a window to regain entry into the vehicle.

Tesla’s owner’s manuals contain instructions on how to utilize an external power source to activate dead electronic door locks, a fact acknowledged by both NHTSA and Bloomberg. However, the preliminary report from NHTSA noted that none of the owners who contacted them reported seeing low-voltage battery warnings—indicating they might not have been aware of the problem’s cause.