The Model 3 handles pivot out and are just as flush, without the need of an electric motor and pointless complexity.

The Model 3 is several years newer and likely by that time someone brought it up that the original was idiotic.

Those stupid handles also fail and freeze closed. It’s bad design

Never said it wasn't a bad design, just that there was reason to innovate when it comes to door handles. Tesla did it, they just didn't do it well.

A tiny door handle does nothing to Cd compared to side mirrors

Tesla's side mirrors already look pretty aero. You also can't remove them completely or make them flush, because they're actually needed for safety. Some manufacturers have gone to cameras, but that's just another part that can fail + they're significantly more expensive than regular old mirrors.

Read the table again, the S is beat by 4 models, one of which is 30 years old.

Now go read my comment again, I said:

consider that every car in the table that beats the Model S, save for the EV1, is newer than the Model S.

Yes, the Model S gets beat by 4 cars (probably more, this is just an examples table), but 3 of them are an entire generation newer EVs and one is an experimental vehicle that was 110% about efficiency. Tesla positioned the S as an executive/luxury car, they could NEVER afford to have a design like that. The entire reason Tesla was the first successful EV was that they made one of the first ones that looked like a normal car, while still being slick so it would have good range on the highway.

To be clear I don't think Teslas are great or that motorizing the handle was a great idea. I was just saying that flush handles make sense on an EV where Cd is pretty important.