When off-duty firefighter Max Walsh saw smoke rising from a busy Virginia intersection, he rushed toward a Tesla Model Y engulfed in flames. Inside, passengers were struggling to escape. Walsh smashed a window and pulled out the driver, but when he turned to help the passenger, the car's doors wouldn't budge.
"If I was able to open the doors, I could have gotten them both out before the fire department even got there," Walsh said in an article by Bloomberg.
A further article from Bloomberg this week updated that the issue is now being probed by federal investigators.
What's happening?
The December 2023 crash left passenger Susmita Maddi with severe burns and lasting lung damage after she was trapped inside. Tesla's electrically powered doors had failed, and the manual release was difficult to locate in the chaos.
Maddi and her husband, who was driving, had bought the midsize electric SUV months earlier in part because of its strong safety ratings. "Buying a Tesla was the worst decision of our life," she was quoted as saying in the article.
The incident is one of several involving Tesla's flush door handles and electronic locking systems. In California, three college students died in a Cybertruck crash when flames and airbags blocked exits. In Wisconsin, five people died in a Model S fire with signs they'd struggled to get out.
College basketball player Alijah Arenas also described having to kick his way out of a burning Cybertruck earlier this year in an article for ESPN.
Why are these failures important?
Tesla vehicles perform well in federal crash tests, but those evaluations don't measure how quickly occupants can escape afterward. Customers and first responders say the company's sleek, automated designs make escape harder when every second counts.
Regulators have logged more than 140 consumer complaints about Tesla's doors since 2018, including cases where children or pets were briefly trapped.
For drivers, these safety issues are both a hazard and a major trust issue in cars otherwise marketed as cutting-edge. If safety concerns slow EV adoption it could also delay the broader transition away from gas-powered cars, which contribute harmful pollution to the air and warm the planet.
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They're better than gas cars 🔌 What's being done about this?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation on Sept. 15 to determine the safety of the door handles on 2021 Tesla Model Y SUVs following reports including Bloomberg's, with particular concern for the possibility of children being trapped inside during moments when the vehicle had no power.
Authorities in Europe and China are weighing stricter rules on vehicle door designs, while the U.S. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has acknowledged complaints and is gathering more data. Some automakers have already recalled EVs over door handle failures.
Consumers considering switching to an EV can explore alternatives from other manufacturers, many of which have adopted simpler mechanical backup systems. Taking the time to learn about available safety features and testing emergency releases during a purchase can help to provide you with peace of mind.
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