It is really telling, that Tesla’s electric door handles have been trapping people inside burning cars for years, and it takes a ban from the Chinese market to get rid of them.
Fortunately, from 2027 Elon Musk will be forced by the Chinese government to change his lethal design.
Why on earth has the US and the EU not already banned these handles years ago?
@randahl The purpose of western society is to make you buy gas. Dead electric vehicle owners are structurally a feature.
I decided long ago that I would never own a car without mechanical door handles inside and out. And brakes and steeering that work without electrical power.
@randahl Because government and economy that serves humanity is obsolete somehow?
We've flipped the script and now we serve them instead.
@randahl the Ford Pinto lesson from history, I suspect.
And to me that seems like a very good idea. A deathtrap…
One death is one death too many… follow the example!
@randahl Chinese is powerful
I'm willing to bet this is more about finishing off competition than safety. You see videos from Chinese social media of their EVs and automatic vehicles plowing through obstacles, driving erratically, even dragging scooters/bikes down the highway.
China has siphoned as much (lackluster) technology as they can from Tesla, so they're making life difficult for Musk.
Can't say I care much either way, you couldn't pay me to drive a Tesla or BYD.
@randahl it's a self selection thing.
@randahl Yup, this was a huge regulatory failure from both the US and EU to allow designs this unsafe to remain on the market.
@randahl according to ARS, this ban is from 2029 for existing models. 2027 will only be true for new models.
Since Model S / X is going away in 26 Q3, Model 3 and Y was just recently refreshed, they have time to adapt.
@randahl probably for the same reason they look the other way on Elon's Paedophilia ..."but he's so Rich!"
@randahl
[ pure association of ideas at the beginning: ]
"why on earth.."? maybe because of the revolving doors system they're idelogically trapped in, that impeach them to handle such matters properly?
#prplXprpgnd
@randahl you know it's because the billionaires own many of our politicians
@randahl it should have been rectified after the first incident. The fact that it wasn't is reason enough to NEVER purchase anything from this person.
“Made popular” seems like Tesla marketing.
Show your work, BBC. Where are these handles popular?
@randahl Because 1.4 billion people with a strong protectionist government evidently have more clout.
@randahl Why do you think it whould change anywhere besides China? Apple makes iPhones with physical SIMs just for chines market. Musk might do the same.
@randahl I've been in cars with handles like that several times, especially taxis, where I can't figure out how to get out even when everything is working. Sometimes I haven't been able to figure out how to get in either because the handles are hidden. I hate those designs with a passion. They're obviously a security hazard.
@randahl I agree with most of what you contribute to the Fediverse, except for this one point. I drive a Model 3 myself, and the door handles are truly intuitive to use. They're almost as easy to operate as any other door handle.
I doubt there's any reliable data to support the claim that many people are putting themselves in danger because of the door handles.
@individual8 when you push to open the door from inside the Model 3, that does not open the door. Rather it sends a signal to the car to unlock the door using an electric motor.
If your car is in an accident and loses power, then you cannot open the door this way.
You then need to know how to manually override this mechanism, and many passengers do not know. That is what is so dangerous. Especially if the car is on fire, sinking in a lake, etc.
@randahl But surely you agree it's misleading if everyone talks about flush door handles when they're actually referring to electrically actuated ones.
@randahl It is one of the stupidest things new cars have. Hidden handles are neither beautiful, nor easy to work with. We seem to appreciate new approaches just because they are new, not because they make any sense. And this is applicable to everything.
@randahl they must have spent so much on lobbying. I don't know how else to explain this.
Not to mention the driver's seat that moves automatically and squishes the person behind the driver. I've never been in any other vehicle that felt so much like a death trap.
@randahl Failed states rarely get called that when they're collapsing is my answer.
It's like one historian type person put it recently. Collapse starts to show up as.. maybe the potholes didn't get fixed as fast, maybe the bridge never got rebuillt,
maybe safety rules were too much "trouble" to enforce
