NEW YORK: US auto safety officials have opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s door design following a complaint from a driver who said poor labelling worsened an emergency, authorities said this week.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received a petition from a customer who said the mechanical release on his 2022 Tesla Model 3 was “hidden, unlabelled, and not intuitive to locate during an emergency” in which the electric system failed, the agency said.
“A defect petition has been opened to evaluate the issue and determine whether to grant or deny the petition,” NHTSA said in a public notice on Dec 23.