When I first learned that Teslas (and almost all other EV’s) have electronic only doors, I knew this kind of situation would happen.
I hope this gets laws enacted that force manufacturers to install mechanical latches on all of their vehicles. I know Teslas have manual overrides on their front doors, but the rear doors still have this issue.It’s like if Titanic not only didn’t have enough lifeboats, but instead had no lifeboats, and also everyone was locked in their cabins.
The Titantic was designed to stay afloat long enough to allow everyone to disembark in cohorts on life boats to rescue boats and send the lifeboats back for the rest- it was never intended to fit everyone on lifeboats all at once.
It was that a mix of how telephone operators made more money off personal telegrams than ice warnings, and didnt relay the messages, and how nearby possible rescue ships had gone to bed and turned off their radios meant this process didn’t get executed, and how because the iceberg hit the ship, essentially creating a large gash the entire length of the ship, causing the flotation bulwarks to be breached, which is a very rare occurrence, caused so much death.
In Tesla’s case, that much aforethought hasn’t been taken.
In this case, they have lifeboats (apparently), they were just all hidden down in the ship somewhere (apparently).
False: “All but two lifeboats were situated on the Boat Deck, the highest deck of Titanic.”
“Titanic only had enough lifeboats to accommodate approximately a third of the ship’s total capacity.”
“Compounding the disaster, Titanic’s crew was poorly trained on using the davits (lifeboat launching equipment). As a result, lifeboat launches were slow, improperly executed, and poorly supervised. These factors contributed to several lifeboats leaving with only half their capacity.”
But seems they launched 18 out of 20 available.
I believe @warm@kbin.earth is referring to how Teslas have electronic door releases instead of mechanical handles and they don’t work in a fire. There is a mechanical emergency override (I think only on the front doors) but it’s not obvious and there have been multiple deaths from people who could not figure out how to escape from burning vehicles.
To me it’s the most egregious example of Tesla not knowing the basics of how to build a car or eschewing user experience conventions that have been developed over more than a century of car building for good reasons in favor of trying to be modern or futuristic.
Thx, okay I didn’t get it but makes sense. Yeah it’s really stupid to “reinvent” everything and offhandedly brush away the things that have been written in blood during previous decades… I mean it’s kind of obvious that a safety mechanism needs to be fast and easy to operate. Making someone disassemble a door while on fire and blind from the thick smoke might not be the best idea. And you’d need to perform some safety dance each time before boarding a Tesla or people/passengers won’t know the strange procedures.
I hope this gets laws enacted that force manufacturers to install mechanical latches on all of their vehicles.
Considering Musk’s love affair with the incoming administration, I wouldn’t bet on it for the next 4 years (hopefully)
In fact I’d be happy to just have the NHTSA avoid being dismantled in the next 4 years
Just how California had laws that effectively forced automakers to make nationwide changes, Europe can still mandate this and it may end up here regardless.
The cybertruck is already illegal here in the EU since it doesn’t comply with pedestrian safety laws.
I don’t think it will have as much of an effect on the auto industry I’m afraid, the auto industry is already well used to having multiple regional models to comply with weird country quirks of their own vehicle safety boards.
Any EU mandate will just get through onto the already existing model destined for EU countries. Unless the EU writes it in such a way to force companies to abide by it in all countries even non-EU, but that would be a legal gray area for sure.
It works for Cali because no company is going to have multiple regional region cars (i.e. states), that would be a step to far for them lol
Mid-terms are in 2 years!
NHTSA is part of the executive, so he would still have control over it, but we can at least hopefully place restrictions on his power (or impeach) in 2, assuming the election still happens and the results are accepted.
In general, this isn’t exactly a safety conscious administration in those terms.
Prepare to see a lot more products with serious safety issues coast by disinterested regulators and become popular with your friends and family. Peppering your life with a little extra spice.
When I first learned that Teslas (and almost all other EV’s) have electronic only doors
I really just want a regular car with an EV power train. Don’t to change a bunch of shit on the car, unless it is germane to its function as an EV. Things like doors, instrument clusters, turn signals, infotainment, HVAC controls, shifting (e.g. park, reverse, drive) should be the same as any other vehicle.
You want an e-Golf, which was a beautifully stupid, half-hearted implementation of an EV by Volkswagen, who because they really didn’t want to do it, spent almost nothing on redesign, and in the process creating a ridiculously fun vehicle to drive with sporty handling and high torque at low speed, but nothing else changed from the classic Golf design. Door handles, freaking dials on the dashboard, manual climate and audio controls. Sadly, it isn’t being made anymore. We’ve outgrown ours and it’s time for me to let someone else enjoy the experience (especially with the Biden used EV sales incentives going away soon) but my daughter loves it so much that I’m dreading the tantrum that I know will come when I sell it.
The model Y has mechanical emergency door openers in the front. Not in the rear. It complains about possibly breaking window trim when you use them.
They are not super obvious though and you’d have to know in an emergency.
Yeah the releases in the 3 and Y aren’t too bad. Most people use them by mistake once or twice (and get the warning about window trim).
The X however is unforgivable. You have to pop off the speaker grills to get to them and then the door also weighs a lot and has to be manually lifted upwards.
You have to pop off the speaker grills
Oh yes, the obvious thing to do when trying to escape a fire.
As if we didn’t have enough reasons to hate musk
No, on the X there is a lever just below the open door button on the front doors. I have seen multiple people use it instead of the button because the button in the front door is less obvious to them then the lever.
I’m talking about the back doors. But yes. I incorrectly compared the front doors in the 3/Y with the back doors of the X.
Same with the Model 3.
I have to disagree with them not being obvious however. Nearly every new person in my Model 3 goes to grab the emergency release immediately. I even added vinyl door open stickers next to the button to make it more obvious and it still happens almost every time.
Yes I wasn’t clear. They aren’t obvious for rear seat passengers. They are in a reasonable and semi obvious place for front seat passengers. The very first time I was in a model y I pulled the emergency door pull thinking that was the handle.
The model 3 and Y both back mechanical backups. I suspect the S does too. The back doors on the X definitely don’t, but that’s not the only questionable design decision on the X.
but that’s not the only questionable design decision on the X.
They didn’t want sliding doors because that makes it a minivan. And minivans are “uncool”
So give it regular-ass doors like every other SUV. Now Tesla’s only full-size SUV (as well as their only “truck”) are not compatible with a roof rack. If I get an SUV or a truck it’s because I want to move a bunch of stuff around, and I 100% will get a roof rack because of that.
Most manufacturers use the door handle to override the electronic system. Like pulling twice or harder than usual.
That’s fine then. We’re relearning why all cars with manual transmissions have the same foot pedal and shift pattern arrangement. It’s so in a panic situation, people aren’t having to orientate themselves mentally and can just go off of muscle memory to save themselves. I should be shocked that Tesla didn’t hire any auto industry veterans that know that, but I’m not. This reeks of software dev shit where every new MBA coming in just has to shake things up and reinvent everything so they can leave their mark.
And it reeks because they “leave their mark” just like an unneutered cat.
Anyone who has ever been in a Tesla knows they’re a software company, not a car company. The cars are made like crap.
I still wouldn’t go back to ICE though.
Nothing about having an EV drive train requires electric doors. Others have already said that other EVs have manual doors or manual override for panic situations.
Didn’t say I wouldn’t go back to manual latches, just not going back to ICE (or selling my almost paid cars) because elon is a twit or they are unreasonably dangerous in the event of a freak accident.
This is a stupid problem to have, but expected value says most people will never have it.
Nobody asked you to sell your car. Stop taking this discussion personally.
Also, Expected Value is irrelevant for safety features.
Dude shut up lol. Everybody is jerking off on Tesla for an admittedly gnarly problem that will affect practically no one. Yes it’s stupid, but so is your furious masturbation to Tesla issues at the expense of actually reading the comments.
And yes, expected values against risk are literally all that matter. If that was not the case, no car would ever move from the assembly line for fear of rolling over a toddler or crashing into a cyclist. Pucker up your flapping butthole you’re talking out of and collect yourself. People will still stroke your weiner for saying “Tesla bad” even if you resort to reading and discussion; it will be ok. Stop putting words in other commenters mouths.
I read an article that Teslas are designed to have thier electrics in a daisy chain to avoid big ugly bundles of wires. But that just means a failure propagates down the chain so non critical systems can take out critical ones. Clearly he doesn’t listen to or hire car engineers.
Rear doors have manual overrides too.
Not simping for Elon, fuck him.
*Not available on all models
Reading this thread that does appear to be the case, that’s insane. Fuck Elon again.
Shouldn’t an electric be programmed to open if it finds itself undergoing powerloss? Isn’t that like a very basic failsafe? One so basic it’s the plot to an indie horror game that wasn’t intended for children but found an audience there anyway?
Clearly Tesla opted for the fail-deadly route instead of the fail-safe route. Fuckin ridiculous.
In all honesty, I don’t see a good solution to electronic doors. If the power dies while it’s just sitting in your driveway, now it’s open, if the doors open on electricity loss. Definitely better than what they have now, but I’d prefer something completely different. Like what if we had a series of levers and cables that opened the door? I know, it’s like, next level crazy, but maybe…
this is why electric locks should NOT be relied on for safety: electric locks MUST default open when something goes wrong, which means that picking them is as easy as making them malfunction or cutting the power.
Except power cables are inside and to pick them you first need to pick them.
What game is that?
FNAF
Should’ve known
With lord Elon presiding over god king trumps “economy”, I wouldn’t count on that. Adding that safe guard measure would cost him too much.
They have mechanical overrides but look whee some of them are. Have to remove a door panel.
Some of the cheaper ones skip the overrides in the back to deliver more value to shareholders.
Every fucking one of them needs to be recalled.
Teslas (and almost all other EV’s) have electronic only doors
- but Teslas don’t.
- we never pluralize with an apostrophe.
There is a manual override in Tesla cars but the feature is not widely publicized, experts say.
Tesla isn’t the only culprit here. Any manufacturer that makes cars with electric doors should be required to also have a prominent and easily reachable manual override, instead of hiding a tiny lever underneath the armrest or on the floor, or behind the person’s seat on the pillar somewhere, or any fucking place that isn’t where you would expect a door handle to be.
Should just be a law to have a regular fucking door handle, we don’t need fancy/electric doors. Telsa’s should all be taken off the road with their shitty track record.
What? Regulating Elon’s enterpreneuments? In this fine coming year of Trump 2025?
Considering he will be leading a government department he just called “DOGE”, along with the rest of Trump, I’d say the USA is royally fucked, Tesla will be the least of their troubles.
You reap what you sow.
We’re totally fucked.
This is morbid but one of my favorite “butterfly” effect news stories in the last year was around the death of Angela Chao after she backed her car into a pond while intoxicated.
Okay, so - here’s the setup:
The Chao family is a very wealthy family. In the 1960’s the family patriarch got into the shipping business and has done very well, garnering money and power. Wealth and power beget wealth and power. Mitch McConnell is even married to one of the daughters - Elaine Chao.
Well, Bush appointed E. Chao to Labor Secretary during his presidency. Mind you, she’s not just Mitch’s wife - she has been in government since the late 80’s. One of the talking points in republican circles during the Bush years was that there was a massive decrease in worker safety complaints. They attributed this to businesses behaving themselves and say that this is evidence that self-regulation can work. What was learned later is that OSHA simply didn’t enforce many regulations or follow up on many complaints, instead choosing to focus on trying to find fraud within unions.
Cut to Trump. He appoints Elaine - still Mitch McConnell’s wife, and daughter of a transportation magnate - to be the Department of Transportation’s Secretary. The ethics concerns notwithstanding, the department hand waved many things through, such as the tesla doors mentioned in the article above, as well as the Tesla Model X’s confusing forward/reverse system, which is cited as being a reason for the death of Angela Chao, her sister.Man, this will be fun to quote at work parties!
Yes please, I vote for this one
IIRC it’s because if the frameless window setup Teslas use - it needs to wind the windows down slightly before you open the door, so it uses an electronic control to tell the car to do that.
So a shit design, yeah, that’s what we’re talking about.
Ok, just like other brands do with regular fucking handles? All convertibles have that, the handle is still mechanical with an electronic switch to lower the window, but if the switch doesn’t work it doesn’t prevent you from opening the door!
Or, you could just have the door handle be the manual override.
It is a laughably easy thing to have the release for the door from the inside be the same kind of mechanical door release we’ve always done, for obvious safety reasons, and then have a little solenoid which can also trigger the release of the mechanical door release if the computer wants it to open.
The only reason to do it otherwise, and then need a separate manual release handle, is if you are okay with people dying in exactly this fashion so that you can make your shiny thing in the exact shiny way you want to make it.
Teslas need to crack the windows before you open the door, that’s why they complicate the door release. If you don’t give the computer a moment to move the window before the door opens you can damage things.
You keep pointing out the design flaw, but I think we are aware that its a flawed design.
Tesla isn’t the only manufacturer of doors with frameless windows. They are the only ones I know of who have electric-only door latches.
The computer can have the window cracked before the handle is fully pulled. And if it fails to do so, the door opens anyway.
A better solution is a fucking window frame.
My car has frameless windows. But they don’t need the window to be in any particular place. Literally 100% up or down, and the door works fine. I don’t understand why they designed cars that have this problem.
But yeah, framed windows work great too.
Thank you for giving the explanation, but I think you’re getting flamed for it because it sounds like you’re saying that decision makes sense.
They introduced the design constraint. They can remove it, or work around it mechanically. They chose not to, and instead made a death-trap on purpose. I’m sure they had their reasons at the time, but they are by definition bad reasons if they led to this outcome.
He’s getting flamed because convertibles have been doing frameless door windows forever with manual overrides. It’s not something super special Tesla has done. Musk just doesn’t want to spend the extra money doing it right.
They chose not to, and instead made a death-trap on purpose
I don’t think it’s a death-trap “on purpose,” but it’s def a death-trap by negligence. Which is still bad. Very very bad.
“They had to work around a shitty design flaw with another flaw.”
Didn’t bmw have this in the 90s…?
Yep, people who don’t know cars arguing about car stuff, I hate it.
Those cars still had door handles.
People are saying “Tesla needs the window to lower before the door opens” as an excuse why they use an electric switch, I’m saying they don’t know shit about cars because that’s been a thing for decades before Tesla was even an idea and these cars used regular door handles.
Why is that obvious design flaw relevant?
So just like any convertible?
It is so intuitive, just disassemble the door when the car is on fire.
On at least the model 3 and Y it’s fairly intuitive for the front seats. For the rear? Not so much.
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/en_us/GUID-AAD769C7-88A3-4695-987E-0E00025F64E0.html
Note Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.
:/
That’s abysmal. Let’s make it’s extra hard where children are far more likely to be.
And have the presence of mind to do this after a collision and the vehicle is on fire.
There’s a reason that building egress (at least for commercial) is the way it is, with things like push bars and opening outwards. It’s because people do not think clearly in emergency situations.
… the back doors that have child locks already on them so THEY CANT be opened by said children…?
That’s what argument you want to use? Seriously? Lmfao the shit people come up with sometimes.
An emergency release should bypass the child locks. Looks like you’re the one lacking imagination.
The emergency release does bypass the child lock. That’s why it’s in a hidden spot in the back doors, because otherwise the child lock would be pointless.
And the reason why it’s hard to access is so a kid can’t accidentally open it and fall out….
Having it bypass the child locks defeats the singular purpose of the child lock lmfao. What is with these arguments?
You can have adults sitting at the back with child lock on, you want any emergency system to bypass other systems that might block them.
Please, never work in safety.
You should NEVER have an adult in the back with the child lock on… since they couldn’t escape in an emergency….
Normal vehicles don’t have a bypass, so an adult would be locked in any vehicle if it was on….
Tesla’s atleast have a feature to overcome this….
It’s quite sad that you needed this explained…. Do you even own a drivers license? If you do, please turn it in for the safety of everyone on the road, not just the adults you lock in the back seat…
The ones that have to be enabled and I haven’t stated thoughts on either way?
Yes so what difference does a hard to make emergency access do when in any normal car they can be locked in…?
It’s hard to access so kids CANT open the door while it’s moving and fall out. Thats why vehicles have the child lock feature available… it’s quite sad that you need this explained.
I think their point is that child locks are not on by default?
And? A child can be locked in the back of any vehicle with no way out, atleast teslas have a way to still get out… leave it on, and no law an adult is locked back there, with no override to get out. And that’s your Honda, not even a fancy electric car….
The point is, they’re crying about children being locked in the back, yet any current vehicle you’ve been able to chose to do that for bloody decades already, yet a car with a feature to overcome that is being decried. You were locked in the back of your parents car, it’s unsafe for children to be able to open doors while driving, so it’s prevented for their safety.
The hypocrisy that people show just to be mad at something with one actually comprehending why…
Who the fuck thought this up
- Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket.
- Press the red tab to remove the access door.
- Pull the mechanical release cable forward.
It should be as intuitive as getting out of any car, a regular handle.
Killed by the department of efficiency
It’s an apt analogue for what we should all expect from the DOGE; burning to death while everyone watches in terror.
Holy fuck, I never registered that that was the acronym for it.
Yeah, it was the whole point.
When Trump first said that, I wondered why the hell he’s talking about Musk asking for a position title that never existed, and then he tweeted out some BS AI gen of him with the title ‘DOGE’ on a nameplate in front of him.
He basically is a 13 year old who never grew up.
Musk is edgier than some 13 year olds
but isnt the ‘of’ not supposed to be in the acronym otherwise the DMV would be DOMV
We live in hell
Not calling it that, it’s the DGE
It hurts seeing a meme that was fun a decade ago get run into the ground by being used so aggressively and so long and so fucking uncoolly.
This is what it says on their website. Hope you’ve got the link handy if you’re in a crash, and also that you’re not in one that doesn’t have this…
Are you kidding meeeee
Look it’s very simple if you get in a crash and are on fire.
Stop. Drop. Roll. Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. Press the red tab to remove the access door. Pull the mechanical release cable forward. Remember that not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors. Die.
Rolls right off the tongue. If you’re still in trouble call 0118 999 88199 9119 725 3.
For english press 1. Your call will be answered in the order it was received.
For regicide, press 3
To return to the main menu, press all of the buttons on your keypad simultaneously.
Remember: To speed up, increase your speed. To decrease your speed, slow down.
Door handles are ugly though.
Worth a few lives to get them out of the way.
This is some “Headphone jacks are ugly” logic here.
No, this is so much worse. Enjoyment function vs aesthetic is a reasonable trade off. Emergency egress vs aesthetic is an insane trade off
And don’t you know how many cents a door handle costs? Christ, we’re not made of money.
“Expensive” is the real issue for Tesla. That’s a couple dollars that can go into Elon’s pockets.
Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.
I think I see a problem.
Also: that’s waaaay too many steps for an emergency. Imagine trying to dismantle the door trim when you have a concussion.
This is what it looks like when they’re legally forced to do something, but still don’t want to do it, and their customers are idiots who can afford to pay for redundant features.
So you know, goverment inefficiency. /s
I hear the new guy in charge of that is a genius!
Realistically they should show the owners at the dealership and make sure they open it several times before taking it off the lot then reinforce it in software and make them release it once a month.
Or you know… just make it mechanical
If I remember right, it damages the car to use the manual door override.
Lawl of course it does.
It used to not lower the window and could damage the window.
Shortly after the 3 was released it was changed. When there is power it lowers the window now.
But if there is no power, it can’t lower the window and it may break.
And what about the passengers? Is the owner going to be required to give an airline attendant “emergency exits are located here” safety speech every time someone hops in the car with them? Can we actually trust them to do so?
Also, not all models have mechanical release mechanisms in the rear doors. There are models where it is 100% possible to just be locked in the back seat. And when you only have ~15 seconds to escape before the lithium flames+smoke cook you, you’re not going to be able to crawl to the front.
Well fuck Tesla. This should be illegal.
It’s so easy! When you get in a crash are panicking and disoriented, who needs a simple quick lever that’s there at all times??? Simply follow these complicated 3 steps to extract yourself from the burning vehicle!
*not available on all models.
make everything electronic because Elon thinks it is super cool
put very inefficiently placed manual overrides because it was a bad idea
Link?
Or they could try a front door, which is much more straightforward
What important living beings go in the back anyway? It’s usually just babies, pets, and children.
Man, I bet those dead kids in the back seat feel so stupid now.
They should’ve just read the owners manual (and hoped their car was equipped with an emergency release) not my fault they’re lazy.
Friendly reminder that everyone should have one of these seatbelt-cutter-window-hammer things in their glovebox
Wouldn’t be a good look for that wankpanzer if a $5 tool from Walmart could bust through its windows. Better call it a Cyber-izer and sell it for $200.
And make it in black or gray so it’s impossible to find in an emergency👌
Before you can use it, you need to solve a Captcha.
Other nice options as stocking stuffers can be spread around the car, like in each door, glovebox, keychain. The hammer type you linked is easier to hold, but you may not be able to reach the glovebox.
I have broken windows with all three of these exact products during regular extrication training as a firefighter.
I don’t trust the yellow one for some reason. I feel like the mechanism wouldn’t work or may require more pressure than one would immediately give. The more mechanics involved, the more points of failure introduced.
I vouch for the basic ugly window smasher hammer.
I can say in my training experience the yellow one works great. It doesn’t require a wind up either.
Imo have a hammer in your glove compartment for helping OTHER cars. Have the small variety near each window so each occupant has a better chance of getting out (if the front right is crumpled, the glove compartment may not open)
That’s my move, but having anything is better than nothing
Another problem with some teslas (and other vehicles) is that there are switching to laminate for the side window glass for strength purposes. These devices wont work in a survival situation if your car has laminated windows. LINK
I have heard it’s easy to kick out the windshield, but I’ve never had to test that theory.
I’ve tried to kick the side rear window out in a taxi driver fainting situation, it’s really not trivial, particularly if you’re the only one in the back.
Tempered glass is much stronger than people imagine. It breaks easily with the proper tool but without one there’s a good chance it wont no matter how hard one hits and kicks it.
Gotta love a broken spark plug…
Just bippin’ and boppin’ along.
Aren’t Tslas the ones with glove boxes that have to be opened through the console menu?
The front window is made to be easily kicked out from the inside.
In a normal car anyways.
Also never go out the drivers side. That Window is more expensive
Ahh yes, the window that is worth more than my life.
Well you should really be thinking about the long term.
I have one, but the issue is being able to find it in an emergency and remembering that it’s there. It’s like girls I’ve known with a 9mm, uh, somewhere, uh, just in case. You actually have to practice some.
For example; Every time my wife starts burning something in the kitchen I get out of my chair and go to the fire extinguisher. Muscle memory is a thing.
I love this idea, I’m going to start practicing it myself.
In my neck of the woods a couple weeks ago five people burned to death in a Tesla. Apparently called 911 from inside the car too. No national news on this either.
In my neck of the woods, four people burned to death in a Tesla last month (news article in French).
I can’t believe there isn’t an NHTSA regulation about manual egress from an unpowered vehicle. This is just bonkers.
There are manual releases but they’re hidden. They need to be more obvious because these cars are rented to people and obviously the owners aren’t taking the time to figure out where they’re at.
I would also think just having secondary power packs in each door would help in the event power is cut to ensure the doors can continue to function for a few minutes while also a speaker could explain how to use the emergency release if none of the doors are working.
All this added complexity and cost isn’t worth it to me, manual doors just make sense for so many reasons.
Or, how about this: it’s a door, have it work like every other car door for the last 70 years.
Redesigning stuff to make it “cool” and “futuristic” is fucking stupid and is clearly not safe. Doors have handles, the handles are pulled to open the door. Keep it simple.
The reason given for hiding them just makes that fact worse. It’s for “aesthetics”. Manual latches don’t look futuristic enough.
In the future nobody reads “the design of everyday things” apparently
In the future nobody reads
“the design of everyday things” apparently
Eject the doors with explosives as soon as the vehicle velocity is zero and fuck everyone else. Tumbler style.
Awesome way to enter the cinema though
Or at a red carpet premier: pull up, doors blast off, step out in style over the mangled bodies of the paparazzi…
Honestly Tesla should be sued over this
The front handles aren’t hidden. They’re so obvious everyone I take in my car tries to use them first if I don’t tell them.
Back doors is a whole other story.
That’s if they have them. Apparently some models of the Y don’t come with manual back door releases.
Back doors is a whole other story.
Thats what this means. The back seats are hit and miss depending on the vehicle.
I thought that was more in reference to the release being hidden under a mat to access. The fact that ‘a whole other story’ could be misconstrued two ways I think just shows how bonkers this is 😂
Ah, I can see how that may have come across like that. My bad.
When I rode as a passanger in a Tesla Model 3, the owner told me not to use the big pull handle because it was the manual release, and instead to use the button at the top of the grab bar.
I don’t know about the other models but the manual release was a more obvious way to open the door than the intended way.
Only for the front seats, and on something like the Y not all models even have manual releases in the back. The ones that do have them covered with a mat and no indication where they are.
On the model Y you need to removal a speaker grill to manually release the doors in the back.
what a metaphor for America
Well they don’t say where it was but I’m assuming it’s Canada since a Canada post employee saved one by smashing the window with a big pole so she could crawl out.
It happened in downtown Toronto.
<smashes window> Sorry!
Regardless of where it happened, it’s still an apt metaphor for America
with a bonus nonmetaphorical Musk tie-in.
What fucking idiot builds fail-deadly electric door controls into a very flammable car
Anything owned by Muskrat
There is a manual unlock mechanism, but from what I read it’s rather hidden and not very obvious. Sounds like really bad design to me.
Yeah but mechanical car door handles aren’t “Cool.” You don’t want to have a car that isn’t cool, right?
Some GenZ kids were talking about how cool rolling up a window with a handle was and wished it was in cars again. It was refreshing to hear.
When electric windows became a thing I considered it a downgrade because it meant that I couldn’t roll down my window when the engine was off.
More fancy bits is just more bits to break.
As a 25 year old Gen Z I love my manual window rollers on my 1991 Jeep Cherokee.
I was in a 2024 Cherokee and it was insanely frustrating trying to get the window to where I wanted it.
It also looks absolutely nothing like a Jeep Cherokee. They should just say Jeep SUV on them.
I’m still worried about going over a bridge and not finding a smashy object fast enough.
Always have an emergency tool in your car to break your windows in case this shit happens to you. Even if you’re in a car not designed by a god damn moron.
Tesla uses double pane laminated glass, it doesn’t shatter like normal tempered glass. It can be really difficult to break and get through.
Also to break glass, don’t hit the middle of the glass, strike near a bottom corner where it is less likely to flex against the impact. You may be able to take a seatbelt’s end and use the corner of the metal end of the seatbelt to break it if you have nothing else. Corners for breaking
Didn’t these used to be part of the seat belt? Has that standard changed?
Well, any seatbelt still has a metal point or two, which can be used to break the window. But the person inside still needs to be conscious and not-panicking enough to realize that fact.
I put two window smashers with seatbelt cutters in my Wife’s Model Y for this reason. The back seat door releases are HARD to notice as they are buried in a door pocket. We are getting rid of the car next year for something made by an actual 100 year old car company and not run by a fucking greedy dork.
Depending on the manufacture date, the side windows on the model Y may be laminated glass. If that’s the case with yours, window smashers won’t work on those.
Are you fucking kidding me? The only laminated glass that should be on a car is the windshield. Everything else should be tempered.
This is not just a problem with Tesla, but a requirement by NHTSA that is fairly common and will be everywhere
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glass-aaa-unbreakable/
One in three 2018 models have such glass
a rule the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) passed in 2011. It’s known as Ejection Mitigation, and it requires a combination of side airbag curtains and stronger windows to keep occupants inside the car during a rollover.
Jesus Tapdancing Christ, that’s what a fucking seatbelt is for. What the fuck is going on with the NHTSA? They’re the reason why cars are huge and getting bigger, and now they want them to be crematoriums as well?
Clearly Musk wants people to die.
So happy my car is not a tesla.
Hell yeah let’s put this guy in charge of something
Hey I have an idea, let’s put him in charge of… “Technology”?
The reality is so so so much worse.
Any car without manual door locks and handles is a death trap. They should be required by law.
Every Tesla on the road has manual door release.
But not on the door handle, rendering it useless in an emergency situation.
Some of them even have it on all of the doors. It’s not very helpful if they hide it somewhere you’ll never find it if you didn’t memorize the entire owner’s manual though.
Also not true. Their own manual states not all models have manual overrides
