Investigation initiated against Tesla following claims by parents that malfunctioning door handles entrapped their children in the vehicle's rear compartment
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into approximately 174,300 Tesla Model Y vehicles from the 2021 model year. The investigation centers around possible defects in the electronic door handles that may fail to open, potentially caused by low battery voltage.
The inquiry was initiated after receiving nine reports of electronic door handles failing due to low battery voltage. The NHTSA's preliminary evaluation will examine the scope and severity of the issue, assessing the approach used by Tesla to supply power to the door locks and the reliability of the applicable power supplies.
Notably, the investigation focuses on the operability of the electronic door locks from outside the vehicle, not inside. This follows four reported cases where parents had to break car windows to rescue their children trapped in the back seat due to inoperable electronic door handles.
The NHTSA has also expressed concerns about a child's ability to reach or operate the manual door releases inside the vehicles. In the past, there have been reported incidents of Tesla doors malfunctioning, trapping drivers in burning vehicles after accidents and a loss of power.
A lawsuit was filed last year against Tesla by relatives of a driver who was trapped in a burning Tesla Model 3, alleging negligence and fraud for failing to fix a design flaw in the doors despite numerous fires involving the company's cars.
Meanwhile, Tesla's stock has seen a rise, with shares climbing more than 2% to $419.25 in afternoon trading Tuesday, following a jump the day before on news that CEO Elon Musk had bought $1 billion worth of shares.
In other news, Musk has faced criticism for his controversial statements. In April 2021, a college basketball recruit, Alijah Arenas, faced difficulties getting out of a burning Tesla Cybertruck. Additionally, Musk has angered the traditional environmentally conscious Tesla customer base by supporting President Trump and far-right politicians in Europe and their policies.
The NHTSA is also investigating Tesla for a 'summon' technology that allows drivers to tell their cars to drive to their location to pick them up. Furthermore, the agency launched another investigation in August to determine why Tesla apparently has not been reporting crashes promptly to the agency as required.
Despite these challenges, Musk remains optimistic about the future of Tesla. He has promised to put hundreds of thousands of self-driving Tesla cars and Tesla robotaxis on roads by the end of the next year. The NHTSA will continue to monitor reports of people trapped inside vehicles, also known as 'entrapment'.
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