For many years now, Tesla’s retracting door handles have proven disastrous in emergencies, trapping occupants within the vehicles — especially in the event of a fire, when the design-forward handles can make it difficult, if not impossible, for first responders to rescue passengers caught inside.
Despite numerous wrongful death lawsuits blaming the design feature over the years, US regulators have yet to take meaningful action. Even the mechanical latch on the interior can be nearly insurmountable in a crisis, unless you specifically know it’s there.
Now, the Chinese government has finally decided that enough is enough. Last week, officials announced a recall of almost three million Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. They argue that the interior emergency mechanical door handles are “difficult to identify” because they are “close to the color of the interior.”
“When a serious collision causes extreme situations such as the failure of the vehicle’s low-voltage system, it may affect the driver and passenger’s ability to quickly open the door to escape and rescue people outside the vehicle, posing a safety hazard,” China’s State Administration for Market Regulation wrote in its announcement, as translated into English.
