Tesla faces US auto safety investigation over door handles

US auto safety regulators opened an investigation into whether some Tesla Inc. vehicle doors are defective, citing incidents in which exterior handles...

US auto safety regulators opened an investigation into whether some Tesla Inc. vehicle doors are defective, citing incidents in which exterior handles stopped working and trapped children inside.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it’s opening a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s electrically powered door handles becoming inoperative due to issues with certain vehicles’ low-voltage batteries. While the probe specifically focuses on an estimated 174,290 Model Y SUVs, the regulator said the investigation could widen.

“NHTSA’s investigation is focused on the operability of the electronic door locks from outside of the vehicle as that circumstance is the only one in which there is no manual way to open the door,” the agency said in a document posted on its website. “The agency will continue to monitor any reports of entrapment involving opening doors from inside of the vehicle,” and will “take further action as needed.”

The move comes days after a Bloomberg News investigation uncovered a series of incidents in which people were injured or died after they were unable to open doors when Teslas lost power, particularly after crashes. NHTSA has received more than 140 consumer complaints related to doors on various Tesla models getting stuck, not opening or otherwise malfunctioning since 2018, Bloomberg found.

During an interview last week, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm declined to comment on Bloomberg’s investigation into the door handles, beyond saying that the board “takes seriously” any safety incidents. Tesla didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on NHTSA’s probe.