- Tesla’s signature door handles have drawn scrutiny from safety watchdogs
- The company’s design chief says Tesla will change them
Tesla kicked off several design trends in the automotive industry, but none has been more controversial than its door handles.
The exterior door handles sit flush with the bodywork for a sleek look. The internal doors lack a traditional pull handle — they open with a button
The button requires electricity to work. Tesla does build in emergency release levers that let passengers inside a car unlock a door manually. However, those are covered by trim pieces. Using them requires pulling off a plastic cover and then tugging on a cable — not logical steps people are used to taking in an emergency.
Related: Tesla Market Share Drops to 8-Year Low
To make matters worse, Tesla has changed this design several times. Even if you know how to release the door in one Tesla, you may not know the procedure for another, nearly identical model.
The emergency releases lack clear labels. They can be so hard to find that several online stores sell label stickers you can attach to your own Tesla, telling passengers how to get out in an emergency.
The Design Has Trapped People After Accidents
- In multiple accidents, people have found themselves unable to escape a Tesla
The design has a clean, ultra-modern look, but has drawn scrutiny from safety watchdogs. A recent Bloomberg investigation found “a series of incidents in which people were injured or died after they were unable to open doors after a loss of power, particularly after crashes.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a formal safety investigation. That may be the first step in a process that could lead to a recall order.
Related: Stellantis, Tesla Shared Dubious Recall Crown in 2024
Now, Tesla lead designer Franz von Holzhausen tells Bloomberg the company is working on a new approach.
“The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense,” he said on Wednesday. “That’s something that we’re working on.”
Von Holzhausen did not say whether the company is developing a retrofit solution for older cars, but NHTSA’s investigation may force it to.
