China orders recall of 3 million Tesla vehicles over electric door-handle safety concerns
Chinese regulators mandated recalls of 4.3 million cars, including about 3 million Teslas, to address safety risks associated with retractable electric door handles and to require software updates for window operation and driver monitoring.
Chinese regulators have ordered a recall of 4.3 million vehicles, with Tesla accounting for roughly 3 million of those units, to address safety issues linked to retractable electric door handles. The State Administration of Market Regulation said the recall applies to Tesla and eight domestic manufacturers, requiring each to add interior warning labels and issue a software update that automatically lowers windows after a collision. The update aims to mitigate the risk that a loss of 12-volt power—common in crashes—could prevent passengers from opening doors.
The directive follows a ban on fully retractable door handles for new cars starting next year, prompted by incidents in which occupants and rescuers struggled to operate door handles during fires. A widely shared video showed a Dongfeng electric car crash in which passengers suffered burn injuries after doors could not be opened.
Separately, Tesla will roll out a software upgrade for its driver-monitoring system in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in China. The new version will use the interior camera to track eye movements, addressing reports that some drivers attempted to defeat the system with improvised objects.
David Zhang, dean of vehicle technology research at the Jiangxi New Energy Technology Institute, said the large-scale recall demonstrates China’s commitment to establishing safety standards for electric vehicles.