Tesla facing new requirements after flush door handle accidents
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What safety issues have arisen from Tesla’s flush door handles?
time for our daily tech and business report. Today we're joined by Bloomberg News reporter Amy Stillman. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is developing new requirements for car doors in the wake of Tesla accidents from its flush door handle. Amy, tell us about this. What's the issue and what are the new requirements?
Yeah, thank you, Melanie. So the issue here is that we've seen a number of cases, 15 deaths and a dozen incidents in which Tesla doors have not opened after the car has lost power during a crash and occupants inside have been unable to get out. of the vehicles, they've also been difficult to access by first responders. As a result of the design of the vehicles, this is specifically related to models from Tesla.
How many deaths and incidents have been linked to Tesla doors failing after a crash?
And so there's been a lengthy investigation into Tesla door handles. And what we've seen today is that NHTSA, the auto safety regulator, has decided to issue a new rule making as it relates to door handles and making sure that passengers can safely get out of their vehicles when there's a crash and ensuring that they're able to see door handles, that they're able to get out safely. So this new rulemaking process has begun. It does not necessarily mean that a rule will definitively be created. It still has to go through a lengthy process of several years at least. But it certainly will help in terms of dealing with this issue.
Okay, Amy, this is a little bit embarrassing to admit, but I'm one of those people that when I take a rideshare and it's a Tesla or a friend picks me up, I sort of have trouble opening up the door handle. You kind of have to know how to work it.
What new NHTSA rulemaking is being proposed to address door‑handle safety?
Is that what's going on here? Is that somehow related? You know, those door handles are a little bit different than they are on other vehicles.
Exactly. The issue here is that passengers aren't able to find the actual door handle. The design of the car is designed to be these flush, technologically advanced models, but then when you're actually in a situation where you need to use the manual handle, a lot of passengers can't find it. You imagine that you're in a crash, in an incident with a high level of risk, That becomes even harder when you're up against the clock trying to get out of the vehicle.
Has Tesla responded at all?
Has Tesla responded to the investigations and what is Elon Musk’s stance?
I know you said it'll take a couple of steps before they have to do this, right? We're not there quite yet. What is the company saying, if anything?
Yes. So Bloomberg reported late last year that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has insisted on electric doors even after potential safety concerns were raised internally. So we haven't had a huge response as of yet. It'll be interesting to see how this process is taken over at Tesla.
and how about for individuals that already have a tesla would they be able to go and have some sort of repair or swap out what would that be like would it be retrofit they have to totally replace it do you know
Well, that's a very good question, and that sort of speaks to the different mechanisms of how the regulation works in the United States.
How would the proposed rule affect existing Tesla models – recall or retrofit?
So essentially, you have two ways in which it works. One is a recall in which there's a defect involving vehicles. and then the manufacturer would then either have to recall the vehicle or find some sort of fix with the consumer. That's one method of dealing with an issue. The other method is this method that's being taken, which is to create a new rule, which will be part of the federal motor vehicle safety standard. In that instance, this would essentially imply a new rule that manufacturers would need to follow. So it's not totally clear how a manufacturer would respond to that going forward, whether they would need to get rid of models that are in breach of that rule. But this is certainly something that's going to
take some time.
When can listeners expect the rulemaking process to be completed?
And I was just going to ask you any sense of how long the process will take here.
Yeah, so I think we can safely assume this will take years. Just to give you an idea, the first part of this process is simply just to put out there that they're planning on making a rule, getting comment from industry and other experts before they even start the process of writing the rule.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What safety issues have arisen from Tesla’s flush door handles?
0:00–0:48
2
How many deaths and incidents have been linked to Tesla doors failing after a crash?
0:48–1:47
3
What new NHTSA rulemaking is being proposed to address door‑handle safety?
1:47–2:31
4
Has Tesla responded to the investigations and what is Elon Musk’s stance?
2:31–3:26
5
How would the proposed rule affect existing Tesla models – recall or retrofit?
3:26–4:15
6
When can listeners expect the rulemaking process to be completed?
4:15–5:04
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from KCBS Bloomberg Tech and Business Report
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