Photo by European regulators are clamping down on Tesla’s door design after so many safety red flags. The Dutch Vehicle Authority (RDW) said Thursday it’s revising its approval rules for all Tesla vehicles sold across the EU.
The reason is that too many people have been getting trapped inside their cars after crashes, especially when the battery dies. First responders have also struggled to get in. According to Bloomberg, these issues triggered the review after it uncovered that Tesla’s flush door handles fail during power loss, locking people inside, including in situations where cars caught fire.
“Doors must always be operable, from the inside by occupants and from the outside by emergency responders, even in the event of a power failure,” said an RDW spokesperson in an emailed statement. The agency added that where current rules are too old to handle these newer designs, updates are now underway, with Committees inside the European regulatory structure reviewing every angle.
NHTSA opens probe into Model Y handles as China proposes mechanical overrides
Meanwhile, just days later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into the door handles on Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, the Model Y. This probe is targeting whether the design fails in emergencies and violates federal safety laws.
Franz von Holzhausen, who has led Tesla’s design for years, told Bloomberg that the company is “working on making its door handles more intuitive to use.” He didn’t explain how or when, but that comment came right after the NHTSA probe went public.
Meanwhile, China’s safety regulators have gone further. They’re pushing for a national rule that every passenger car must include mechanical door releases that work both inside and outside the car. The rule directly targets the flush handle design made famous by Tesla and copied by local automakers like Xiaomi.
The Dutch RDW spokesperson said that resolving power failure access is now “a key priority for both Euro NCAP and UNECE,” naming the continent’s crash test body and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Those two organizations are leading the push to make sure every new vehicle sold in the region meets a higher standard of emergency access — regardless of how futuristic the design looks.
Tesla fights $56B Musk pay case in Delaware’s top court
While regulators dig into doors, Tesla is back in court again, this time appealing to Delaware’s top judges to reinstate Elon Musk’s $56 billion compensation plan that was thrown out earlier this year. The case has dragged on for nearly two years.
Earlier today, Tesla’s lawyer Jeffrey Wall argued the company’s shareholders had “all the facts” when they approved the plan back in 2018 and called it “the most informed stockholder vote in Delaware history.”
But Jeffrey did later admit that his argument goes against a January 2024 ruling from Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who voided the entire payout, saying that Tesla’s board was way too close to Elon and that investors were misled.
Elon didn’t show up in court, but he still has options. Even if the $56 billion plan doesn’t come back, Tesla already put a $25 billion backup package in place earlier this year. And it doesn’t stop there.
The board is now backing an even larger $1 trillion incentive package. The deal would reward Elon only if Tesla hits extreme long-term market goals. Critics are calling it reckless. Supporters argue it’s needed to keep Elon focused on Tesla’s push into AI, energy, and robotics. But all this is happening while people can’t even open the doors.
