China is banning Tesla-style concealed door handles on electric vehicles to address safety concerns regarding people getting trapped inside their cars. The ban will take effect on January 1st next year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's announcement, and will require all vehicles sold in China to have mechanical release door handles on the inside and outside.
Car door handles seem innocuous. Tesla's electronic, retractable ones-since imitated by plenty of global automakers-have become a symbol of the automaker's willingness to work from design-first principles, reimagining what the car of the future might look like, electric-style. But in September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the Tesla 2021 Model Y's door handles. More than 140 consumers have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the door handles, according to a Bloomberg report published last month.
When power to the truck's electric doors was shut down by the fire, the four passengers were locked inside with no way out. The lawsuit alleges the design of the Cybertruck's door handles is at fault for Tsukahara's death. From the inside of the truck, when electricity is cut off, the only way to exit a rear door is by pulling a cable that's underneath a pocket liner under the door's storage compartment, according to a report by Bloomberg.
