Lawmakers in Washington are turning a niche design choice into a national safety debate, zeroing in on the sleek, electronic door handles that help define Tesla’s brand. At the center is a new proposal, the SAFE Exit Act, which would force automakers to rethink how drivers and first responders get into and out of modern vehicles when every second counts.
The bill arrives after a string of fatal crashes in which victims were reportedly trapped behind doors that would not open, sharpening scrutiny of Tesla’s flush handles and hidden manual releases. It also tests how far Congress is willing to go in dictating the fine print of car design as electric vehicles move deeper into the mainstream.
Inside the SAFE Exit Act and its Tesla focus
The legislative push is being led by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a Democrat from Illinois who represents the district labeled IL-02 and who has made automotive safety a recurring theme of her work. In a statement from WASHINGTON, her office said that Today, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly introduced a bill that would set a federal standard for electric vehicle doors, explicitly citing Tesla’s design as a catalyst for action and framing the measure as a way to ensure every EV sold in the United States has a clear, reliable way to open in an emergency, a claim detailed in her own press release. Kelly’s proposal, known as the SAFE Exit Act, would direct the National Highwa safety regulator to write rules that require easy to find mechanical overrides on every electronically latched door, closing what she and safety advocates describe as a dangerous gap in current standards.
Supporters of the bill point to at least 15 people who have allegedly died in car crashes after Tesla doors did not open, a figure that has been repeated in multiple accounts of the SAFE Exit Act. In one detailed breakdown, an Illinois Representative Introduces SAFE Exit Act Aimed at Tesla Style Electric Door Handles in the U.S. House of Representati, describing how the law would require clearly labeled manual releases for each door and give the National Highwa authority to enforce a set of safety standards that is currently unregulated, a structure laid out in legislative coverage. The same reporting notes that at least 15 people have allegedly died in car crashes due to Tesla doors not opening, and that the bill would mandate manual releases for each door, underscoring how tightly the proposal is tied to a specific design problem in Tesla’s lineup, as described in a separate summary of the deaths.
From niche design to national safety standard
What began as a styling flourish has become a regulatory flashpoint, with Congress now weighing whether Tesla’s approach should effectively set the floor for the entire industry or be treated as a cautionary tale. The SAFE Exit Act would require the National Highwa agency to craft rules so that every electronically controlled latch has an obvious, physical backup, a requirement that a U.S. Congressional bill would impose by directing the National agency to act, as explained in a detailed analysis of the bill. That same account notes that the proposal is framed as a way to ensure people’s safety as electric vehicles proliferate, not as an attack on the technology itself.
Safety advocates have been pressing for this kind of change, arguing that the industry’s rush toward flush handles and hidden buttons has outpaced common sense. One consumer-focused review describes how a Proposed Law Takes Aim at Unsafe Electronic Car Door Handles and highlights the need for Fail safes for getting in and out of cars in an emergency, noting that the measure is endorsed by Consumer Reports and that it would apply to any vehicle with electronic latches, not just EVs, as laid out in a detailed safety brief. A separate social media summary of the debate notes that US Congress introduces SAFE Exit Act targeting Tesla door handles after claiming 15 deaths, while stressing that the bill is aimed at unsafe doors, not EV specific, a nuance highlighted in a widely shared post about the SAFE Exit Act.
Why Tesla is singled out in a broader industry problem
Although the proposed rules would apply across the market, Tesla is carrying most of the political heat, in part because its door handles have already drawn federal scrutiny. Late last year, Tesla Inc became the subject of a renewed probe into Model 3 emergency door handles, with reporting by Dana Hull at Bloomberg describing how regulators are reviewing a petition that asks the National Highwa agency to investigate whether the design can trap occupants and how the agency will decide whether to grant or deny the petition, as outlined in a summary of the investigation. That background helps explain why lawmakers have been comfortable naming Tesla directly in their public statements, even as they insist the fix should be industry wide.
Critics of the bill’s framing argue that Tesla is far from the only automaker using electronic door latches and that singling out one brand risks obscuring a systemic issue. One detailed breakdown notes that At the same time, Tesla is far from the only automaker using electronic door latches and points to Rivia and other EV makers as examples, arguing that this is not just a Tesla problem, a point made in a broader industry look. That same coverage, by Stephen Rivers, explains that the New bill would require manual door releases on electric latches and that it strengthens safety rules with clear requirements that doors always have a manual release, a technical detail that goes to the heart of how automakers will have to redesign their systems if the measure passes, as described in that report.
For now, the SAFE Exit Act remains a proposal, but its trajectory will be closely watched by Tesla owners, rival manufacturers and safety advocates alike. One early overview notes that the U.S. House of Representatives may take up a bill aimed at Tesla Style Electric Door Handles, describing how Illinois Representative Introduces SAFE Exit Act Aimed at setting standards in an area that is currently unregulated and emphasizing that at least 15 people have allegedly died in car crashes due to Tesla doors not opening, as detailed in a congressional preview. Whether or not the bill advances quickly, the message from Congress is already clear: in the age of touchscreens and over the air updates, something as basic as a door handle is once again a matter of life and death.
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