Ever tried to open a Tesla door and wondered how that works? It takes a minute if you’re not familiar with the retractable handles but it shouldn’t feel like a puzzle because it’s a car door—it should be obvious. Well, beyond that it has safety issues and Chinese regulators want to ban them:
Chinese regulators have led the charge, with reports stating that electronic retractable door handles could be banned as soon as 2027. While some semi-retractable styles will potentially avoid an outright ban, it’s believed new regulations will require a mechanically redundant release system as standard.
As for the US, the sleeping giant of NHTSA has finally awoken in the wake of Bloomberg‘s reporting on the matter. As reported by CNBC, Tesla has been given a deadline of December 10 to deliver records to the federal regulator, regarding design, failures, and customer issues around its electronic door release systems. The Office of Defects Investigations within NHTSA has already recorded 16 reports of failed exterior door releases in the a single model year of the Tesla Model Y. It’s likely a drop in the ocean compared to the full population of Tesla vehicles currently on roads. Meanwhile, the US automaker also faces multiple lawsuits over the matter from those who have lost family members in fatal crashes and fires involving the company’s vehicles.
I hate Tesla’s anyway for every reason you could imagine so I welcome this and hope it reaches the UK too.
Filed under: China Hackaday