Fifteen deaths. Tesla crashes where doors would not open. That is the number behind the NHTSA door handle safety action announced this week. Bloomberg reported it late last year.
NHTSA is now developing new rules — the NHTSA door handle safety rulemaking — covering occupant egress across all automakers. The rules will apply to every automaker selling vehicles in the United States — not just Tesla. The agency denied a petition asking it to investigate whether the 2022 Tesla Model 3’s emergency door operation violated existing federal standards, but said that denial does not mean the problem is resolved. It means NHTSA is bypassing the narrow petition and writing new rules instead.
That distinction matters for the NHTSA door handle safety scope. A petition investigation looks at one vehicle. New rulemaking covers the entire industry. What starts as a Tesla problem becomes an NHTSA door handle safety standard that Rivian, BMW, Genesis, and every other manufacturer using flush electronic door handles has to meet.
How Door Handles Became an NHTSA Door Handle Safety Problem
Until roughly ten years ago, door handles were mechanical. Pull the handle, a rod or cable moved a latch, the door opened. Simple, reliable, repairable roadside with basic tools if something went wrong. Emergency operation did not require reading a manual.
Tesla decided that flush door handles — handles that sit flush with the bodywork and extend electrically when approached or touched — offered an aerodynamic advantage worth pursuing. The advantage is real but measured in fractions. The complexity introduced is not.
A mechanical handle works when the car is powered off. It works when the car is submerged. It works when the 12-volt system fails after a crash. It works when a first responder needs to extract an unconscious occupant unfamiliar with the vehicle — which is the core of the NHTSA door handle safety concern.
An electrically operated flush handle works when everything is working. When a severe crash damages the vehicle’s electrical system — which is precisely when you most need to exit a vehicle — the electrical handle may not. The 2022 Tesla Model 3 has an emergency manual release, a small tab inside the door that bypasses the electrical system. The petition argued that this emergency system did not meet existing federal standards for accessibility and operation. NHTSA’s denial of the petition did not rule that the system was compliant — it said new rulemaking was the more appropriate path.
What Happened to the Petition
The NHTSA door handle safety process started with a petition about the 2022 Tesla Model 3. The petitioners argued the emergency door operation did not comply with existing federal motor vehicle safety standards. NHTSA investigated, then denied the petition.
Denial does not mean clearance. NHTSA can deny a petition while simultaneously concluding that the underlying issue requires regulatory action. That is what happened here. The agency decided that writing new rules covering all manufacturers is a better outcome than investigating one vehicle model against standards written before flush electronic handles existed.
The existing standards were not written with this problem in mind. FMVSS 206, the federal standard covering door locks and retention components, predates the widespread adoption of electronic door handles. Applying standards designed for mechanical systems to electronic ones creates gaps. NHTSA is now in the process of assessing whether those gaps require new regulations and, if so, what those regulations should require.
Tesla’s Existing Investigation — a Different Problem
Separate from the NHTSA door handle safety rulemaking, NHTSA has its own active Tesla investigation covering a different failure mode: doors that will not allow people into the car.
Owners have reported situations where the handle fails to extend, leaving them locked out. In some cases, the person trapped inside was a child or an elderly family member — someone without the physical ability to locate and use the manual override while seated in the car. This NHTSA door handle safety investigation thread is about accessibility failure rather than crash egress failure, but both stem from the same design decision to replace mechanical systems with electronic ones.
Tesla’s lead designer Franz von Holzhausen said last year that the company is reworking its door handle designs. No specific details were published. Rivian has also announced its intent to redesign how its door handles function. Both came before the NHTSA door handle safety’s rulemaking rulemaking and suggest the manufacturers are aware the current designs have problems that go beyond individual complaints.
The Aerodynamics Argument Was Always Weak
The case for flush door handles — the design that triggered the NHTSA door handle safety inquiry — was never strong from a physics standpoint. Aerodynamic drag on a vehicle at highway speeds is dominated by the frontal area, the underbody, and the rear wake. Door handles contribute a fraction of a percent to total drag coefficient. The reduction achieved by recessing them is real in the same way that switching from 17-inch to 18-inch wheels affects fuel economy — it shows up in simulation, it is too small to matter in practice.
The design choice was primarily aesthetic. Flush handles look clean. They signal that the vehicle is modern. They are part of the visual language manufacturers used to communicate that an EV is different from a combustion car. That is a legitimate design decision. Framing it as an aerodynamic advancement was the industry rationalising something that was driven by style.
The NHTSA door handle safety investigation is, among other things, a reckoning with what happens when aesthetic decisions create safety tradeoffs that were never adequately disclosed or regulated.
Who This Affects Beyond Tesla
Tesla gets the NHTSA door handle safety headlines because the 15-death figure is attached to Tesla vehicles and because the petition named the 2022 Model 3 specifically. The NHTSA door handle safety rulemaking is not limited to Tesla.
Genesis uses retractable electronic door handles on the GV60 and G90. BMW used hidden door releases on the iX. Various Rivian models have electronic handle systems. Lucid, NIO, and other newer EV brands have built flush handle designs into their vehicles. Several manufacturers have already begun reverting — BMW added physical door releases to recent models after consumer feedback, and some automakers are reconsidering flush handles for their next-generation vehicles.
New NHTSA door handle safety regulations, once finalised, would require any vehicle sold in the US to meet specific standards for door operation in crash conditions, loss of electrical power, and emergency extraction by someone unfamiliar with the vehicle. What those specific standards will require has not been determined — the agency is still in the information-gathering phase.
NHTSA Door Handle Safety Timeline — Years, Not Months
The NHTSA door handle safety rulemaking process is not fast. The agency moves from preliminary assessment to advance notice of proposed rulemaking to notice of proposed rulemaking to final rule, with public comment periods at multiple stages. A process that begins today can take three to five years before new standards take legal effect. Enforcement then depends on the agency’s capacity and the political environment around automotive regulation at the time of implementation.
The current state of US automotive regulatory environment does not help the NHTSA door handle safety timeline. right now does not accelerate this. NHTSA has been operating with reduced resources and shifting priorities. The door handle safety investigation is moving forward, but the timeline between investigation and enforceable rules is measured in years rather than months.
People are buying vehicles with electronic handles today, before NHTSA door handle safety rules exist. The 15 deaths Bloomberg reported are not a historical figure — Tesla has sold millions of vehicles with electronic handles, and those vehicles are still on the road. New crash victims are not waiting for the regulatory process to conclude.
What Buyers Should Know Right Now
NHTSA door handle safety rules do not exist yet. If you own a vehicle with electronic or flush door handles, locate the manual emergency release inside every door before you need it. Most are small tabs or pulls that bypass the electrical system. In a Tesla Model 3, it is a tab at the front of the door panel. In other vehicles, locations vary. The manual release works without power. The electronic handle may not.
If you are buying a new vehicle and NHTSA door handle safety is a concern, models with physical mechanical door handles — traditional pull handles with a direct mechanical connection to the latch — do not have this problem. Most mainstream non-luxury vehicles and most non-EV vehicles still use mechanical handles. The flush handle is still primarily an EV and luxury market feature, though it has been spreading.
NHTSA door handle safety rulemaking will eventually produce enforceable standards. Eventually. Right now, knowing where the manual release is in your own vehicle is the only protection that exists.
FAQs
What is the NHTSA door handle safety investigation about?
NHTSA is developing new safety regulations covering door handle operation — specifically focused on whether doors can be opened in crash conditions, without electrical power, and by emergency responders unfamiliar with the vehicle.
Why did NHTSA deny the Tesla petition?
The petition asked NHTSA to investigate whether the 2022 Tesla Model 3’s emergency door operation violated existing standards. NHTSA denied it but is pursuing broader new rulemaking that covers all automakers — wider scope than the petition requested.
How many people died because of Tesla door handle failures?
Bloomberg reported 15 deaths in Tesla crashes where doors would not open. This figure was reported in late 2025 and triggered the petition that led to NHTSA’s current action.
Does NHTSA door handle safety cover only Tesla?
No. Rulemaking covers all automakers certifying vehicles for US sale. Tesla is the focus of public attention but the rules will cover any manufacturer using electronic or flush door handle designs.
What is the difference between NHTSA’s two Tesla door handle investigations?
The Bloomberg-related issue concerns doors that would not open after crashes. NHTSA’s separate existing investigation concerns door handles that fail to extend, preventing people from getting into the car. Both stem from electronic handle design but are distinct failure modes.
When do NHTSA door handle safety rules take effect?
Unknown — preliminary assessment stage now. Rulemaking typically takes three to five years from initiation to final enforceable standards.
Which other automakers use electronic door handles?
Genesis, BMW, Rivian, Lucid, and several other EV brands have used flush or electronic handle designs. Some are already reverting to physical handles based on consumer feedback before any regulatory requirement to do so.
Also Read: AEV FX370 Ford Super Duty Package Starts at $19,999 — 37-Inch Tires, No Fender Surgery
