It's both. The electric latch can trap occupants inside the vehicle, and the external handles make it difficult for rescuers to quickly access anyone trapped inside.

The Pinto became so renowned not because it easily blew up, but because people found out Ford had calculated the cost of payments to victims' families and worked out it was cheaper than recalling all the vehicles and fixing the problem. Capitalism has been alive and well for at least the last 50 years.

Most modern cars lock the doors when going faster than the walking speed so in case of crash the doors are more unlikely to fly open. Similary most modern cars unlock the doors after crash so passengers can get out from the car. Tesla included. In case the door fails to unlock there usually are way to manualy open the locks, but Tesla has made it to a treasure hunt with multiple stages, hidden paths and there is a wizard at the end asking quizzes before you can open the door. So in the end Musk can say there is a way to mechanically open the doors, because there is. Its just not convinient or safe.

They asked if the car had passed the safety test. I said I'd paid for the car to pass the safety test. They said welcome aboard.

Gee, why did DOGE fire most of the NHTSA? Auto safety has been corrupted since Detroit got addicted to selling people cheaply made trucks on a safety loophole. Ironically, people will tell you they bought their flippy tanks for safety.

Like when they suddenly decided every single function of the car including those you're expected to operate while driving should be under 4 sub-menus on a touch screen you need to look at.

So, the flush handles actually save a lot.

The thing is, there’s purely mechanical ways of solving the problem. Including a hinge set somewhere towards the middle- so you push one side in, and the other angled out so you can open it.

Not the most convenient, but it’s less inconvenient than an over engineered piece of shit that breaks every winter.

Iirc there’s a panel you can remove to pull the patch cable manually, which is how they try to explain this being ok

Safety policies are written in blood. Or in this case, ashes.

People shouldn't buy Tesla because a) their cars are garbage and dangerous, and b) the owner of the company is a Nazi. Have a good day, y'all!

I love the Audi e-tron. Feels sturdy like an audi, no stupid gimmicks like disappearing handles.