Tesla Door Handle Safety Risks After Bloomberg Investigation

Bloomberg reports on safety concerns around Tesla’s electronic door handles, linking post-crash access issues to fatalities and growing regulatory scrutiny.

Minimalism has long been a defining trait of Tesla, shaping everything from its interiors to its exterior details. Yet that same philosophy is increasingly raising serious safety questions. One of the most debated examples is the company’s flush, electronically operated door handles, which can turn from a sleek design feature into a critical obstacle after a crash.

An investigation by Bloomberg, cited widely by U.S. and European media, identified at least 15 deaths in the United States over the past decade in which the inability to open Tesla doors after an accident was a contributing factor. The cases span roughly a dozen incidents, several involving post-crash fires. In those moments, seconds matter, and any delay in escaping a vehicle can be fatal.

The scenario described in the reporting is strikingly consistent. After a severe impact, the vehicle can lose power from its low-voltage system, disabling electronically actuated locks and exterior handles. When that happens, doors may not respond at all from the outside. Mechanical emergency releases do exist inside the cabin, but their placement varies by model and model year and they are often poorly marked. Under extreme stress, occupants may not know where to find them or how to use them.

This lack of clarity around mechanical backups is a central theme in Bloomberg’s findings. While many automakers now use electronic or retracting handles, Tesla stands out for the volume of complaints submitted to regulators, a trend the investigation links both to the brand’s design choices and to the size of its vehicle fleet.

In the United States, the issue has drawn the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation into the 2021 Tesla Model Y following reports that exterior door handles failed to operate when low-voltage power dropped. Some complaints describe parents being unable to reopen doors from outside to reach children inside, forcing them to break windows. The probe covers about 174,000 vehicles and focuses on situations where occupants or rescuers could not gain access after a power-related failure.

Regulatory scrutiny is not limited to the U.S. In China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has circulated draft proposals that would require vehicles to allow mechanical door opening after a crash or a battery-related incident. In Europe, the topic is also under discussion among regulatory and certification bodies, where a clear principle is gaining traction: doors must remain openable even in the event of a total loss of electrical power.

Tesla maintains that its vehicles comply with existing safety standards and notes that similar electronic handle systems are used across the industry. Still, according to Bloomberg, the company is considering design changes, including closer integration of electric and mechanical release mechanisms, aimed at making emergency exits more intuitive.

The debate over door handles illustrates how design and technology choices can carry consequences far beyond aesthetics. With regulators in multiple regions now examining the issue, requirements for such systems are likely to tighten, putting automotive minimalism to a more demanding test under real-world emergency conditions.