This happened in Toronto on October 24th
I don’t want to be a dick but not using the mechanism to open them is user error.
But it does also sound like they aren’t very well placed in some models. I feel like the manual release being the same as any car would make sense. As a fucking standard door handle.
I assume the no power locking is an anti theft thing. But if you’re in the car already just provide a handle.
I will be a dick: this is one of those imbeciles teck-bro takes, always comming with excuses for big tech "but actualy… "
If you design a door handle and people cannot open it: your design is shit. Point.
This was stupid when apple did it with the ‘you’re holding the phone wrong, idiot’, it is criminal when it is done on a security feature.
It is because people don’t get a full walk through of how to unlatch it later on…they might on delivery day but at that point people are excited about a new car and not paying attention. And then because they never use it, they forget it exists
Just watch a video of how fast car fires spread into the cabin, and then ask yourself how often you asked someone how to leave a car in case of emergency before you entered.
Add panic and the fact that you have to remove a panel or look under the floor mat to pull a string away from you, and you maybe will understand how this is just bad design.
Emergency exit mechanisms should be designed in such a way that one CAN forget about it or never even know about it, then have it obvious, readily available, and usable, all for/by the dumbest motherfucker in existence, in an emergency situation.
The most common analogous situation is emergency exit door signage. Most companies do an annual fire drill, which isn’t enough to really learn anything. Emergency exit signs are easy to interpret and anyone can understand what they mean and use them to get to safety, regardless of prior experience.
Vehicle doors should be the same. Tesla front doors tend to be easy and obvious to open in an emergency (I own one and front seat passengers frequently use the emergency latch instead of the door button), but the rear doors (for the people seated closest to the damn battery nonetheless) have ridiculously difficult emergency opening procedures.
So it’s not an intuitive design. A major error by itself. Since in a panic a passenger who does not know the secret is stranded inside.
My sister has a tesla, I have ridden in it, and I have no clue how to open the door without power.
If the door can’t be opened easily in a panicked life or death situation, it’s a design flaw and needs to be recalled and fixed.
Opening a Rear Door with No Power
You can open a rear door manually (if equipped) in the unlikely situation in which Model Y has no power:
- Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket.
- Press the red tab to remove the access door.
- Pull the mechanical release cable forward.
Note
Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.
Opening the front doors seems easy enough in the user manual, but opening the back doors requires you to remove a hidden panel then pull a cable, but not all versions of the car even have that hidden panel. Assuming the one in this article did, the car owner would need to give a little safety briefing to every passenger if you want to expect them to know how to open the door. And I’m really not sure what you’re expected to do if you have a kid in a carseat in the back.
