Discuss: Tesla May Abandon Iconic Door Handles Under China’s New Safety Standards

[Not a Tesla App]

China proposes new safety rules targeting electronic door handles, posing a design challenge. Will Tesla be forced to abandon its iconic handles?… Read More

Tesla May Abandon Iconic Door Handles Under China’s New Safety Standards

China proposes new safety rules targeting electronic door handles, posing a design challenge. Will Tesla be forced to abandon its iconic handles?

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[K.I.T.T.]

Fully agree with the reasons behind, but Model 3 and Y are already "compliant", at least on the design side.
They do minimize air friction while avoiding the self-presentation gimmick of models M and S (and many other manufacturers' cars).
At most, they should make them mechanic rather than electronic, or couple the two things in a way that doesn't prevent a safe extraction, as in automatically releasing locks in an accident. So, M and S designs won't be missed...

 

[PrescottAZRichard]

I'm guessing having a mechanical door handle on the outside increases the likelihood of someone defeating it and getting into the vehicle to commit a crime, so this is another safety vs security issue.
That said- I agree with K.I.T.T.
Here's an opportunity to design and engineer a great solution for the team. I hope and EXPECT Tesla do come up with something innovative to solve this. Instead of just half a$$ing it .

 

[K.I.T.T.]

Well I guess it's a matter of compromising safety and security. One might argue that also self-unlocking doors might expose the occupants to malicious attacks starting with a pretend accident. It will never be perfect. But I see the point in banning self-presenting door handles, there was no reason for them in the first place and - driven by economic reasons - Tesla already solved it with the 3/Y door handles. They could do self-presenting "hinge" door handles on the same design, which can be depressed as well when lacking power. But then... how to open the car without power?
And from inside, it's a fact the lack of mechanical rear handles is a safety issue for rear passengers - although I can see the point, a mechanical door handle could be activated by kids, rendering the electronic kids lock useless.
Guess it's hard to make everyone happy... but the consequences of a car accident should be prioritized over the rest.

 

[Procal]

I fully agree that self presenting electronic door handles are cool tech, but completely unnecessary, and pose a very high risk when the car lacks power to open them in the event of a collision. My main gripe is most definitely the rear doors on both the Model 3 and Y. It is something that I hope gets a recall in the future, because it is very difficult to open them in emergency scenarios.