Tesla to Redesign Door Handles Amid Safety Investigation

Tesla is revising its door handle design following a federal safety probe into reports of malfunctions that could trap occupants inside vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated an investigation after receiving nine complaints from Tesla Model Y owners regarding inoperable door handles. In four instances, owners had to break windows to regain entry. The NHTSA's preliminary review suggests that the electronic door locks may become inoperative when the vehicle's battery system provides insufficient voltage. Notably, owners did not report receiving low-voltage battery warnings prior to these failures.

Tesla's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, stated that the company is "working on" combining electronic and manual door releases into a single mechanism. He remarked, "The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense."

The NHTSA's investigation encompasses approximately 174,290 Tesla Model Y vehicles from the 2021 model year. The agency is assessing the severity of the issue and evaluating Tesla's approach to powering the door locks to determine the reliability of the power supplies and whether they are sufficient to prevent such malfunctions.

This development follows a Bloomberg News investigation that highlighted multiple instances where owners or passengers were unable to exit their vehicles after a crash due to door handle failures.

Tesla's stock closed at $425.86 on Wednesday, reflecting a 0.9% increase from the previous close.