Elon Musk Reportedly Insisted on Troubled Tesla Doors After a Warning

The ongoing controversy over an alleged flaw in Tesla’s door design got two new wrinkles this week, as troubling questions began about who knew what and when around the car’s door handles, along with a new federal investigation sparked by a shocking letter of complaint.

As part of a months-long investigation by bloomberg, A project timed to coincide with high-level inquiries from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, media outlets reported Monday that Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk not only knew of the design flaw of electronic door releases in the company’s vehicles, but advocated for their continued use.

On Tuesday, NHTSA announced a new investigation specifically into the Model 3.

according to BloombergAccording to sources, engineers warned Musk about electronic versions of interior door handles during development of the Tesla Model 3. The setup requires power from a 12-volt battery to operate the door with an electronic button. However, to address engineers’ concerns and meet federal vehicle safety standards, a manual version was also installed for passengers to use in emergency situations or if the 12-volt battery is depleted.

The problem that has supposedly led to 15 deaths and numerous other accidents in popular models like the Model 3 and Model Y is that the 12-volt battery, separate from the propulsion battery pack, can fail in the event of an accident. Many passengers were unaware of the unmarked manual release apart from the regular button.

Tuesday’s investigation was prompted by a November letter to the NHTSA by a 2022 Model 3 owner from Georgia in which he claimed he was “forced to crawl into the back seat and repeatedly kick the rear passenger window until it shattered,” when he was involved in a head-on collision that resulted in the vehicle catching fire and losing power to electrical accessories.

Kevin Close said he suffered injuries that required three surgeries, including a total hip replacement. Close cites a federal vehicle law that requires exit latches to be marked so they are easily accessible.

The news also comes at the end of a difficult year for Musk that included a doomed tenure in the White House, DOGE, and an $878 million pay package in November even as a quarter of shareholders didn’t support him, while Tesla sales entered a global free fall due to politics, unfavorable electric vehicle conditions, and increased competition.

Tesla wasn’t the first automaker to adopt electric door handles, but soon after the Model S became popular, companies like Audi started using them. It’s also not the first company to encounter someone allegedly trapped in one of its cars with electronic door handles. A man and his dog died in 2015, apparently after the electronic door opener in a 2007 Chevy Corvette failed, leading to a lawsuit filed in 2016 by the victim’s family. It appears that the man was not aware of the manual override to open the door when the battery fails.

These mechanisms have been a source of reliability complaints and frustrations on the part of owners and reviewers. Outlets like Consumer Reports noticed problems and began ranking vehicles lower for usability issues, so much so that the magazine began petitioning automakers for safer doors.

Tesla’s problems will continue next year as the NHTSA continues to investigate millions of models on American roads. The company has made some changes to the new models, and in September, a Tesla designer suggested redesigning the versions for future cars.