This is a preliminary report: door handles - I agree that the door handles should be always and primarily mechanical with electric assist. Electric primary with an obscure mechanical backup is risky. However, security of the passengers from potential "hijackers" is also important. "sudden acceleration" - we've seen this in the Prius community that was deflated once the air bag logs were revealed and accessible. These logs revealed hitting the accelerator thinking it was the brake. Bob Wilson
Our model X had manual releases for the back seats & mechanical for the front. Idiotically, rear seat releases were behind the rear stereo speaker covers ! ! ! Not only that, the covers were difficult to snap off! Practicing to remove, even in a non-stressful / completely stress free NOT-disoriented scenario was tough. Really like the car, really hated the issues of which most were stupidity in engineering. Living in a couple locations where slick black ice conditions exist, over several waterway bridges made it sensible to have an automotive glass breaking device in the car. Hardly a selling point if you have to have one velcro'd to the back windows though. .
Are door locks no longer preventing hijacking? My past three cars auto locked the doors once the car started moving after start. Could have changed it to do with putting the car out of park in the settings menu.
I wanted it to open the door, rotate the seat, and raise it up so the passenger just stands up. Bob Wilson
I'd want an ejection seat. But levity aside, in an emergency, with compromised passengers possible and the electrics shut off for safety by the crash effects, hos are responders going to retrieve you from your car? Your passenger? Anyone in the back seat? The conventional way is break the window and reach in and yank the handle for the responder. Or any occupant can reach the mechanical handle that still operates if a bit slowly without electric assist. And the handle must be obvious. If this is investigated, and Tesla forced to do a recall....think of the damage to reputation and the effect on the bottom line on retrofitting 4 doors times several million cars. Let alone any lawsuits.
Not toughened, laminated, like the windshield. Even some Prius have that on the front side windows. It can be broken, but the plastic inner layer keeps it from falling apart. First responder training is to smash the glass then cut the plastic with a saw. People have already died in Teslas cause others were unable to get through the side glass in time.
Not just Teslas. Mythbusters did an “escape underwater car” episode that used a glass breaking tool. But I suspect it would not work on sound absorbing, safety glass. Best to not get in a similar situation by using FSD/Autopilot. Bob Wilson
A nice /portable tool made by Lifeline will cut through laminated glass should you take a dive into water
