Tesla Doors Probed by US Regulator After Trapping Occupants
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
The latest NHTSA action focuses on “a very narrow segment of Tesla vehicles” and doesn’t adequately address issues faced by occupants inside, said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington-based advocacy group. He called on the agency to propose rules to ensure manual releases are in standardized, easy-to-find locations.
By Richard Clough
September 16, 2025
US auto safety regulators are probing whether Tesla Inc. door handles are defective, scrutinizing an approach the company has taken with millions of vehicles sold for more than a decade.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disclosed Tuesday that it’s evaluating electrically powered doors becoming inoperative on the 2021 Model Y. While the population of cars is limited — an estimated 174,290 vehicles — the regulator said it’s assessing the scope and severity of this condition, and suggested its probe could be expanded.
“This investigation will also assess the approach used by Tesla to supply power to the door locks and the reliability of the applicable power supplies,” NHTSA said in a document posted on its website. Every Tesla on the US market has electrically powered doors, according to the company’s owner manuals.
The probe comes days after a Bloomberg News investigation uncovered a series of incidents in which people were injured or died after they were unable to open doors when Teslas lost power, particularly after crashes. NHTSA has received more than 140 consumer complaints related to doors on various Tesla models getting stuck, not opening or otherwise malfunctioning since 2018, Bloomberg found.
Click here to view the full story from Bloomberg via MSN.com.