When Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency began wielding its axe at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this year, many believed this was done to weaken the agency's oversight over Tesla. But despite the Tesla CEO's sometimes-close relationship with the Trump administration, it appears there is still some independence left within NHTSA: earlier this week the agency opened a new safety investigation into the door handles of the Tesla Model Y.
The timing may not be coincidental; last week the safety hazard posed by badly designed retractable door handles entered the spotlight thanks to a comprehensive report by Bloomberg's Dana Hull. As Hull detailed, Tesla's door handles rely on the car's 12 V battery to work. Should this fail, there is no way to open the doors from the outside, something that has cost lives as first responders have been unable to free occupants from burning Teslas.
While front seat passengers have easily accessible interior emergency door releases, some Teslas lack any way of opening the rear doors from the inside after a crash. Other, more recent Models 3 and Y have manual releases located under a panel underneath the rear seat.