Khaberni - The US road safety authorities have announced that they have opened a preliminary investigation into the design of Tesla car doors, based on a complaint from an owner of the electric vehicle, who reported that "poor labeling of the doors exacerbated an emergency situation after being involved in an accident".
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that it received a complaint from a customer who mentioned that the mechanical opening mechanism of the doors in his 2022 Tesla "Model 3" was "concealed and unmarked and not easy to locate during an emergency" when the electrical system failed.
The administration added in a statement published on December 23rd, "An investigation has been opened regarding a design defect to assess the problem and determine whether the complaint will be accepted or rejected."
This action follows recent reports that highlighted instances where people were trapped inside burning Tesla cars, after accidents in which the electric door systems failed and they were unable to find the manual door handles.
Bloomberg identified in a report this week, "at least 15 fatalities" "in which passengers or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Tesla involved in a crash and which then caught fire", Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Agence France-Presse, nor to a request from Bloomberg as well.
However, Bloomberg based its statement on comments made by a Tesla executive in September, stating that the company is working on redesigning the door handle system, and Tesla's website includes a diagram of the manual opening mechanism for doors located near the window switches.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that the complainant is Kevin Klaus who survived an emergency accident and fire, as he was able to escape his car by breaking a rear window with the help of a passerby.
