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When Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency began wielding its ax at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this year, many believed this was done to weaken the agency's oversight over Tesla. But despite the Tesla CEO's sometimes-close relationship with the Trump administration, it appears there is still some independence left within NHTSA: earlier this week, the agency opened a new safety investigation into the door handles of the Tesla Model Y.

The timing may not be coincidental; last week, the safety hazard posed by badly designed retractable door handles entered the spotlight thanks to a comprehensive report by Bloomberg's Dana Hull. As Hull detailed, Tesla's door handles rely on the car's 12 V battery to work. Should this fail, there is no way to open the doors from the outside, something that has cost lives as first responders have been unable to free occupants from burning Teslas.

While front seat passengers have easily accessible interior emergency door releases, some Teslas lack any way of opening the rear doors from the inside after a crash. Other, more recent Models 3 and Y have manual releases located under a panel underneath the rear seat.

Break window to free child

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation says it has received nine complaints from the owners of model year 2021 Tesla Model Y that have resulted in this investigation. The complaints detail owners' experiences with a 12 V power failure and inoperable doors, trapping children or dogs in cars on hot days. In most cases, the car suffered a power failure after the parent had placed the child in the back seat, and in four instances, the only way to free the trapped occupants was by breaking a window.

NHTSA notes that while there are manual emergency door releases, "a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them." To make matters worse, NHTSA says that none of the reported complaints say they saw a low-voltage warning light before the 12 V battery failed. The agency also criticizes the complicated process required to start a Tesla with off-board 12 V power, which "requires applying 12 volts DC from a separate power source to two different points accessible from the vehicle’s exterior," something that "may not be readily available to owners or well known."