China is banning hidden door handles on all cars sold in the country, becoming the first country in the world to target the feature – which was popularized by Tesla but has for years drawn concern over safety risks.
The feature has previously come under heavy scrutiny, both in China and elsewhere.
Last September, Tesla said it was looking into redesigning the way to open its car doors in an emergency, after several accidents where passengers were reportedly killed or severely injured in burning vehicles because rescuers could not open them.
Other Tesla owners have reported having to break their own car windows after buckling their children in and then being unable to get in the car again, according to an investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
An investigation by Bloomberg found 140 incidents of people being trapped in their Teslas due to problems with the door handles, including several that resulted in horrific injuries.
All you need is to read the manual.
I get the hate for Musk, but this is all being driven by US ambulance chasers in a class action. Remember when only cars sold in America has “sudden acceleration”?
A door handle should not require reading a manual, especially not if it works one way day to day but an entirely different way in an emergency when people are least likely to think of perusing the manual (which is also electronic in the Teslas, I believe).
Right, I read and memorize all 768 pages of the manual of every single car I rent.