Tesla Gets Its Fingers Stuck in the Door Handle

Tesla has disrupted the automotive industry, but one very concrete detail that is causing it trouble: the door handles.

Tesla announced this week that it is working on a new design, following the opening of a federal investigation in the United States regarding their reliability. It was Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, who revealed this to Bloomberg. His idea: simplify things by merging the electronic opening and the emergency mechanical control into a single button. This should reassure passengers in stressful situations, where every second counts.

Currently, opening a Tesla door is not as instinctive as one might think. From the inside, the preferred option is an electronic button. In case of trouble, a mechanical lever exists, but it is only supposed to be used as a last resort. At the front, it is easily accessible near the windows. At the back, however, it must be searched for under a cover in the door pocket. Not really ideal if you’re in a hurry to get out.

Tesla under scrutiny from authorities

In 2022, Tesla already revised the system to facilitate access for rear passengers. But this time, the project goes further: a single gesture, a single button, no more confusion. For now, the study is taking place in China, with no specific timeline for production.

This announcement comes at a delicate time. The NHTSA, the American road safety agency, is investigating 174,000 Model Y vehicles from 2021. Several complaints have reported doors that are impossible to open following a power loss, sometimes with children trapped inside. Some owners even had to break windows to get out.

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Between bold innovation and everyday hiccups, Tesla walks a tightrope. A door handle seems trivial. But if poorly designed, it can turn a breakdown into a real headache. It remains to be seen if the new solution will help the company avoid getting… its fingers stuck a second time.

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