Tesla's become a very polarising brand, but even fans have to admit that there have been a lot of Tesla design fails over the years. The litany of Cybertruck design fails has become infamous: its invisible stop lights, an inability to deal with snow and pieces that fly off on the road. It also failed to live up to CEO Elon Musk's claims that people would be able to use it as a boat.
Tesla's often dismissed some of the criticisms of its design decisions, but it seems it's finally decided to do something about at least one longstanding controversy. The company is to look into redesigning its door handles following cases in which passengers were reportedly trapped in burning vehicles because emergency rescuers were unable to open the doors.
What's the problem with Tesla door handles?
For years, drivers have been complaining about Tesla door handles breaking on the cars like the Model S, but worse than the annoyance of getting locked out of vehicle (and the need to resort to improvised homemade fixes like the one in the video below) is that there have also been cases of people getting trapped inside in emergencies.
Like with some other electric vehicles, many Tesla handles are flush against the car door and are controlled by electronic switches instead of mechanical components. Those on the Model S and Model X extend and retract, while the handles on the Model 3 and Y mechanically flip out when pressed in. If this fails, the doors need to be opened with a manual release inside the vehicle, but that can be difficult for a child, a passenger unfamiliar with the car or someone in a panic in an emergency.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been reports of owners having to break their car windows after putting their children in the car and being unable to get back inside the vehicle. A report by Bloomberg cites 140 cases of people getting trapped in Tesla cars, with some incidents leading to severe burns and even fatalities.
Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen has now revealed in an interview with Bloomberg’s Hot Pursuit! podcast that the company is exploring the possibility of combining the separate manual and electronic release mechanism to make escape easier in a “panic situation.”
“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.”
The door handle debacle seems to be yet another case of Tesla prioritising its idea of modern aesthetics over intuitive, functional design. EVs have some major fundamental differences from traditional cars, but not everything needed to be reimagined. There is an argument that flush door handles are more aerodynamic, reducing energy use and thus increasing range, but does is the difference really enough to make them worth the risk and frustration of them breaking?
Aside from the danger of getting trapped in a vehicle, customers have said that the handles can be hard to find at night, making them feel unsafe as it takes them longer to get into their car.
The issue may gain more urgency for Tesla now that China's considering a ban on concealed door handles, but it shouldn't require regulatory action for the company to address dangerous design fails if it wants to save the reputation of the Tesla brand.
Just in April, a study declared an association with Elon Musk to be one of the biggest risks to brand reputation up there with AI misuse. That's not great news when he's your CEO. Musk's departure from the White House may have eased the risk to an extent, but the company still needs product designs that work if it's to get over the fallout.
