Nearly 3 million Teslas recalled in China

Retractable minimalist door handles became a distinctive feature of electric vehicles (EVs), but their controversial design is now at the center of China’s largest-ever vehicle recall, affecting more than 4 million vehicles.

The recall, which includes 2.98 million China-made Tesla vehicles, comes amid safety concerns that hidden door handles can be difficult to locate and open in emergency situations, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

Other automakers affected by the recall include Chinese manufacturers XPeng, Xiaomi and Geely.

Popularized by Tesla, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, hidden door handles are designed to sit flush within the vehicle’s door panel and extend outward when the owner approaches the vehicle.

The design came under scrutiny following two fatal accidents in China involving Xiaomi electric vehicles, in which power failures were suspected of preventing the doors from being opened.

Tesla said in a statement on Friday that it was recalling certain Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X vehicles because the door handles are “difficult to identify and operate because their color is similar to the interior trim.”

This could prevent passengers or rescue teams from quickly opening the doors in an emergency, such as during a “severe collision that causes the vehicle’s low-voltage system to fail,” the BBC reported.

Tesla said it would place warning labels on the recalled vehicles and issue a software update that will automatically lower the vehicle’s windows after a crash.

Photo: Instagram/teslamotors