NHTSA launches investigation into Tesla Model 3 door handles

U.S. safety regulators have launched a probe into some Tesla Model 3 cars over the vehicle’s door handles. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a December 23 online filing that it received a complaint from a Tesla owner asking it to investigate the vehicle’s door handles, with the motorist claiming that the “mechanical door release is hidden, unlabeled and not intuitive to locate during an emergency.”

According to the driver’s complaint, he was forced to escape from the vehicle’s rear window after the 2022 Model 3 caught fire, according to his account on an Atlanta local television news show.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first time the Model 3 has come under scrutiny. In 2023, a couple crashed in Tacoma, Washington, after a design flaw in the Model 3 they were driving caused it to accelerate out of control. A separate issue with the door handle prevented bystanders from helping to rescue the couple, according to court filings. The accident killed the woman, Wendy Dennis, while leaving her husband, Jeff Dennis, severely injured.

Other reports have also surfaced describing incidents in which people became trapped in a burning Tesla vehicle following an accident that allegedly incapacitated the electric doors, while occupants were unable to find a manual release. 

Bloomberg reported this week that there have been “at least” 15 deaths over the last decade in which motorists or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Tesla that had crashed and caught fire.