With all the cutting-edge technology being packed into new vehicles these days, one of the most important features in the event of an emergency is easy to overlook: doors that open when you need them to.
Whether to retrieve a child stuck in a hot car or to escape from a vehicle that has been involved in a crash, having door handles that work can suddenly and unexpectedly become a life-or-death matter.
With this important consideration in mind, federal regulators have launched an investigation into Tesla's door handles amid reports that they do not work — or at least are not reliably accessible for passengers of all ages and abilities — when the popular EVs lose power, according to Bloomberg.
What's happening?
On Sept. 15, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the door handles on 2021 Tesla Model Y SUVs after receiving multiple reports of children being trapped inside when the vehicles lost power, documents showed.
"The most commonly reported scenarios involved parents exiting the vehicle after a drive cycle in order to remove a child from the back seat or placing a child in the back seat before starting a drive cycle," the NHTSA documents said. "In those events, the parents were unable to reopen a door to regain access to the vehicle."
In four of the reported incidents, a vehicle window was broken to retrieve the child. While Tesla vehicles do have manual release mechanisms inside the car, these may not be accessible by children or in the event of a crash.
"In these instances, an occupant who remains inside a vehicle in this condition may be unable to be rapidly retrieved by persons outside of the vehicle," NHTSA said. "Entrapment in a vehicle is particularly concerning in emergency situations."
The investigation came days after Bloomberg released a detailed report that included a harrowing account of a woman who had been trapped inside a Tesla following a crash, as the vehicle caught fire.
"It's the most horrible thing, to see a person burning," said Max Walsh, a firefighter who was off-duty when he attempted to save a married couple from a crashed Model Y in Northern Virginia, according to Bloomberg's earlier report. After pulling the man free through a window, Walsh next turned his attention to the man's wife, but was unable to reach her.
"If I was able to open the doors, I could have gotten them both out before the fire department even got there," he said.
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For sure 💯 Thankfully, the fire department arrived soon after with hydraulic cutters, which they used to free the woman from the burning vehicle, but not before she suffered third-degree burns to her face and significant damage to her lungs, Bloomberg reported.
Why does it matter?
As cars, particularly electric vehicles, have become more and more technologically sophisticated and electronics-based, some of the tried-and-true lessons of previous generations of auto design have remained as important as ever. Having ways to open doors in the event of a loss of power is a prime example of this.
Being a completely new company that only ever built high-tech EVs gave Tesla many advantages that allowed it to quickly surpass legacy automakers in the electric-vehicle marketplace. However, companies like Ford and General Motors have over a century of institutional experience designing and manufacturing vehicles in large numbers, and it is important not to lose sight of the many lessons learned during this time span.
The investigation into Tesla's door handles also has served as an important reminder of the role that government regulators continue to play in ensuring that automakers design and build cars with safety as a top priority and holding companies to account when they fail to do so.
What's being done about it?
The Bloomberg report and NHTSA investigation have shined a spotlight on the safety issues posed by Tesla's existing door handle design. Now, it will be up to regulators working in conjunction with Tesla itself to ensure that this probably is adequately addressed.
The situation has served as an important reminder that it takes the combined efforts of manufacturers, government regulators, journalists, consumer watchdogs, and vehicle owners to ensure that products are designed and built to a high standard of safety.
Along those lines, the issue has sparked a lot of discussion across the EV landscape, with many other EVs and non-EVs having similarly electronically powered doors in recent years. In a Rivian forum, Rivian owners discussed how the latches in the front seat are simpler to open than what Tesla has but that the ones in the rear are similar to Tesla's, leading the person who started the thread to make an appeal to Rivian employees: "To whatever Rivian employees are reading this: Please find a way back to mechanic door latches. Some future customers will thank you."
According to NHTSA, its investigation into the door handles on Tesla's Model Y was based on just nine Vehicle Owner Questionnaires that it had received, highlighting the importance of informing regulators when you experience a problem with a product.
"The agency will continue to monitor any reports of entrapment involving opening doors from inside of the vehicle," NHTSA said, again highlighting its reliance on consumer reporting.
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