US car safety regulators launch Tesla Model Y door handle investigation

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the Electric vehicles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

US car safety regulators have opened an investigation into the door handles of Tesla’s flagship Model Y model following complaints that children were trapped inside the car after parents were unable to unlock the doors. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday that its preliminary evaluation would look into more than 174,000 vehicles of the 2021 Model Y to examine “the operability of the electronic door locks” from outside of the car when the EVs fail to receive enough power.

“Entrapment in a vehicle is particularly concerning in emergency situations, such as when children are trapped in a hot vehicle,” the agency said. It added that it would “take further action as needed” as it monitors any additional reports of entrapment.

According to its review so far, the NHTSA said the incidents seem to occur when the electronic door locks do not receive enough voltage from the vehicle.

The probe was triggered following nine reports from vehicle owners who said they were not able to open the doors to their Model Y. The most commonly reported problem involved parents not being able to reopen a door to remove a child from the back seat after stepping outside the vehicle.

The owner manual outlines ways to restore power to the electronic door locks so they can be operated from outside the vehicle. But the agency said the incidents suggested the process was not well known to owners.

The company introduced the electronic door locks in the Model S, which was launched in 2012, pioneering a new design that blends in with the vehicle’s exterior design, but has also raised safety questions.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

The company has released a new version of its bestselling Model Y this year as it hopes to revive sales, which have been hit by increasing competition from newer Chinese players as well as a consumer backlash to chief executive Elon Musk’s political activism.

It is also facing multiple NHTSA probes into Musk’s claims about the capabilities of its driver-assistance systems, which are the subject of thousands of customer complaints about unexpected braking and acceleration.

In March, the company also recalled more than 46,000 Cybertrucks in the US to replace an exterior panel that could fall off while driving.

Musk has increasingly shifted the group’s focus from car making to self-driving robotaxis and artificial intelligence.

But Tesla also needs to sell 12mn more electric vehicles along with a series of other formidable targets for the billionaire entrepreneur to receive a newly proposed pay package worth $1tn over the next decade.