Update: Banhandle
December 29, 2025
Alex KiersteinChina does something incredibly sensible regarding incomprehensibly dangerous electronic door handle designs.
Update 1/9/2026: Enough attention is now being paid to the issue of door handle safety thanks to media coverage that US lawmakers are slowly being goaded into action. As far as I can tell the first concrete step is Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly introducing the “Securing Accessible Functional Emergency (SAFE) Exit Act,” which has just (as of this writing) received bill number HR 6947. The bill would require NHTSA to promulgate a standard for electric doors, including performance (i.e., that they function adequately) and labeling.
It would require manual door releases to work independently of electrical power to the door, and allow access for first responders from outside or inside the vehicle. The standard the bill would apply is “a power independent, easy-to-find manual release for each door providing occupant egress, which shall be intuitive to use and readily accessible for the occupant.”
“Intuitive to use” isn’t very specific but it’s at least a start, and in a situation in which government regulatory agencies are functioning properly, NHTSA would develop and define a suitably specific standard. Let’s hope that nobody decides there is a political element to this safety issue and introduces roadblocks.
My take: Kelly’s bill is a great start, does not appear to be overtly partisan, and allows for agency subject matter expertise to determine the specific next steps. Agency action takes time but the lack of standards in this area is inexcusable, and any action is better than no action at this point.
The original story from 12/29/25 continues below.
Last week, I wrote about a Bloomberg investigation that attempted to quantify the death toll resulting directly from the design of Tesla’s electronic door handles. The inability of occupants to escape a crashed Tesla, or for first responders to get in, resulted in these fatal outcomes, according to the Bloomberg analysis.
The incidents are slowly spurring regulators to action, with NHTSA beginning an investigation. But Chinese authorities have, to their credit, simply have banned one particular implementation of the electronic handles.
According to Sixth Tone, regulators will ban any interior or exterior door handle that doesn’t incorporate a mechanical connection to the latch as an emergency override to the electrically reliant primary mechanism. The new rules also concern interior door handle visibility and placement.
Basically, both interior and exterior handles will need to be able to be opened mechanically in the event of power loss, and they need to be visible and/or marked.
Several Chinese-market vehicles seem to emulate Tesla’s exterior door handle trend, in which there’s no mechanical backup. The Xiaomi SU7 is noted as an example, having allegedly been involved in a high-profile fatal incident in which bystanders weren’t able to free occupants after a crash, per Sixth Tone.
As I noted before in the previous piece, Tesla is considering changing its design to incorporate a mechanical actuator while maintaining whatever aesthetic and aerodynamic benefits the electronic door handles had previously. It’s unfortunate that China’s action regarding common-sense safety requirements took place before American regulators were able to take action, but perhaps it will spur a de facto international standard that benefits consumers everywhere.
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