"Federal auto safety regulators opened an investigation Tuesday into possible defects in Tesla doors that have reportedly left parents with children trapped in the back seat and forced to break windows to get them out. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the preliminary probe is focused on 2021 Tesla Model Ys after receiving nine reports of electronic door handles not working possibly due to low battery voltage."
"The company run by billionaire Elon Musk has installed manual door releases inside the vehicles but NHTSA noted that a child may not be able to reach or know how to operate the releases. In four cases, the parents had to break the windows to get inside. The investigation into Tesla's most popular model comes after numerous reported incidents in recent years of other problems with opening Tesla doors, sometime trapping drivers in burning vehicles after accidents and a loss of power."
"In April, a college basketball recruit said he was "fighting time" trying to get out of his Tesla Cybertruck that had caught fire after he had crashed into a tree and was unable to get the doors open. The University of Southern California player, Alijah Arenas, who was induced into a temporary coma after the accident, said he stayed alive by dousing himself with a water bottle as smoke filled the vehicle."
NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation into possible defects in 2021 Tesla Model Y electronic door handles after receiving nine reports of handles not working, possibly due to low battery voltage. Tesla has installed manual door releases inside vehicles, but children may not reach or know how to operate them; in four reported cases parents broke windows to reach rear-seat occupants. The probe is limited to operability of electronic door locks from outside the vehicle, where no manual entry exists, while NHTSA will keep monitoring reports of entrapment inside. The inquiry follows prior incidents of stuck Tesla doors, vehicle fires, and related litigation alleging design flaws.
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