Tesla Recalls Vehicles in China Amid Safety Concerns Over Hidden Emergency Door Releases

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Tesla Recalls Vehicles in China Amid Safety Concerns Over Hidden Emergency Door Releases
Photo: Gizmodo
tech· A press review of 3 outlets

  1. Tesla is recalling just shy of 3 million vehicles in China as part of a nationwide effort to alert vehicle owners to hidden emergency door releases, which can trap occupants in the event of a crash or a fire.

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    Engadget

    They can be difficult to operate if electrical systems fail after a crash. Tesla and 10 other automakers have recalled nearly 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that hidden door handles may be difficult to open in an emergency, according to a report by Reuters. This is the country's largest automotive recall to date.

  2. This is just one move China is making against concealed door handles. The country is banning them outright in 2027. This is a design widely used by not just Tesla, but by many domestic Chinese EV makers. The upcoming standards mandate mechanical releases on both the interior and exterior of all vehicle doors that can be operated without power.

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    TechCrunch

    Following a two-year review, China in February said it would ban hidden, electronically-actuated exterior door handles from 2027.

  3. The US is also looking into this whole hidden door handle thing. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Tesla's electronic door handles because of the same heightened safety risk.

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    TechCrunch

    Late last year, the U.S.’s top automotive safety regulator opened an investigation into Tesla’s door-latching system after Bloomberg reporting put a spotlight on the issue. The agency is also looking at creating a new rule that could change the safety requirements for such systems. One lawmaker has even proposed legislation that would require manual releases to be “intuitive to use and readily accessible for the occupant.”

From the margins

3 details only one outlet reported

Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.

  1. 01 TechCrunch

    Manual door releases have become a problem in recent years as automakers like Tesla made electronic door latches the standard way of getting in and out of a car.

  2. 02 Gizmodo

    Tesla appears to be calling it quits on its Solar Roof tiles nearly 10 years after their debut.

  3. 03 Engadget

    For its part, Tesla has suggested the company is open to a redesign. Design head Franz von Holzhausen said it's considering a new approach that combines electric and manual release mechanisms. "The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense," he said. "That's something that we're working on."

Assembled from 3 corroborated claims drawn from 3 independent outlets. Every passage above is taken verbatim — Dorothy doesn't paraphrase or summarize.

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Sources (3)

  • gizmodo
  • engadget
  • techcrunch

Original Articles (3)

Enterprise Tesla recalls 3 million cars as part of China-wide push to stop hidden door handles — TechCrunch
Culture Tesla Is Pulling the Plug on Its Solar Roof Tiles — Gizmodo
Consumer Tesla and others recall over 4 million vehicles in China over hidden door handles — Engadget