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After renting a couple cars with electronic door poppers, I find them plainly worse than mechanical door latches. They're a solution in search of a problem, and some implementations are hazardous.
I think having an electric popper on top of an mechanical door latch (actual door handles are standard mechanic, but there's solenoid that can actuate them independently) is okay if you can find an actual usecase.
I mean sure still stupid but at least it isn't dangerous.
Same way electric locks have worked for the past 30 years on cars.
An old civic might be able to unlock from a key fob, but that's only an electronically controlled solenoid controlling a lock which is mechanical in nature, and who's main user-accessible interaction point is mechanically linked to the lock.
I think having an electric popper on top of an mechanical door latch is okay
The problem with having both is that the electronic one is always the primary one, and the one people will use daily. In particular Tesla hides the mechanical ones really well. So in an emergency situation, people panic and have no idea where it is or how to use it.
Same way electric locks have worked
Electric locks actually serve a purpose though. And they're not a danger to passengers inside. What purpose do electric door handles serve? Other than being more prone to failure, more expensive, and dangerous?
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I read the article. It sounds like the auto makers concern is that they don't think they have been given enough time to solve the problem (the problem being one which may kill people while we wait for a solution).
I think we should give them all the time they want, as long as they stop selling cars without safe door handles RIGHT NOW.
“We meed more time even though door handles are a solved problem.”
Your comment is giga based because it doesn't let the overton window get shifted by being too suggestible.
Your brain still went where logic goes, not where was suggested. So important at times like this.
All in all, quality
I’m calling corpo lobbied bullshit. 2 years is enough time to put a normal door handle on your car.
they got lazy, they fully adopted the electronic one, and dint want to "waste money" bringing back the old one, in thier recent and future models.
Cars are designed up to 5 years in advance. Usually the last 2 years before production is dedicated to endurance testing.
They’re not being expected to design a whole new car from scratch though, are they.
The issues could cascade beyond the design. The auto manufacturing industry operates on strict production schedules. Though it builds in time to validate and test whatever new features come in each new model, the sudden intro of a design change late in the process could throw off the delicate timetable.
FFS, it's a bloody door handle, not full self driving tech. Author is full of BS.
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Tesla disregarded all knowledge about automotive door safety to make a more expensive and much more dangerous door handle.
This is what libertarians do for literally everything.
Libertarians are just people too dumb to understand code requirements in every industry and profession.
The only thing libertarians understand is that they can make more money if they charge a full price for a half-ass job.
"too dumb to understand code requirements in every industry and profession."
Or selfish. Unfortunately Hanlon's razor can only cut so deep.
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Load of uninformed B.S. from the supply chain expert. There’s not a door out there that isn’t full of empty space.
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"That's harder than it sounds."
Is it, though? Is it really? We've been making manual car door latches for 100 years.
It's only hard for Musk, and only because he just doesn't want to do it.
Seriously. Every other car maker has figured out how to make normal door handles. You can even buy the parts directly from them if you find it too hard to design yourself.
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Opel Corsa 1993 presents:
Flat aerodynamic door handles.
Unless you're planning to drive your car around at about 150 miles per hour I don't imagine that the aerodynamicism of door handles really comes into account. Especially since you've still got wing mirrors, wipers, and aerials on the car.
I looked into this a long time ago, and it was likely they were getting around 2-3 miles of extra range from it.
I'd say it's less important now than it was back then, when batteries weren't as good and a mile or two anywhere was important.
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harder than it sounds... yeah the technology isn't there yet! we need research and scientific breakthrough to invent a door handle that you can actually handle. no one's even thought of the concept before.
Is this because the door handle is some complicated electronic mechanism rather than a latch? Gee who could have possibly predicted that would be a problem.
My neighbour has a Tesla and last year I had great fun watching her trying to defrost her car enough to get the door handle to even come out.
I hate fucking "flush handles". Good riddance to terrible garbage.
At least they work as a quick visual cue that a car is designed with zero utilitarians in the room
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Big government is oppressing small businesses again! Thanks Obama!
Cry me a river.
Great. Next please: no more touch-controls. I want back haptic buttons for the most important stuff.
EDIT: Instead of silly downvotes, an opinion on why touchscreens/-buttons are superior would be preferable. I'm curious.
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Inside or outside? Ik they have issue with inside door handles and safety but I don't see a need to redesign outside handles?
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-tesla-dangerous-doors/
Non-functional outside handles are just as bad as non-functional inside ones. Not always is the person on the inside able to open the door on their own.
As long as the model 3/y were mechanically operated, I'm not sure their push to pull mechanism is bad or a problem, but the model s/x have electronically presenting handles that need power to present themselves as they pop out horizontally, not with a hinge like 3/y, and you can't really just make that mechanical like you can the model 3/y ones, and the CyberTruck doesn't even have exterior handles.
Who cares? You only have yourself to blame for buying a Tesla.
Dude, you act like you've never been burned by someone in your life. Instead of shaming people for purchasing something and getting burned, we should all be getting together and shaming the companies that are enshitified.
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this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2025
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