The world's first case!
Elon Musk might be in trouble now!
On February 2, media reports stated that China has banned the use of hidden door handles in electric vehicles, becoming the first country in the world to prohibit this design. This design, promoted by the American electric vehicle giant Tesla, is facing scrutiny from global regulatory agencies due to a series of fatal incidents.
This is not some black technology; it's clearly gambling with lives for fashion! A tragedy occurred in Wisconsin, USA, where after a collision, the hidden door handle of a Tesla Model S failed, trapping five passengers in a sea of fire, who burned to death while rescuers watched helplessly and couldn't open the door.
The testing data from the China Insurance Research Institute is even more damning, showing that the success rate for the hidden door handle to pop out after a side collision is only 67%, while traditional mechanical handles achieve as high as 98%. This 31% difference represents the distance between life and death.
Wang Jianjun from Great Wall Motors has long been candid, stating that the reduction in aerodynamic drag from hidden handles is negligible, and instead, they add 8 kg and are hard to seal, with freezing shut in low temperatures being common; it's purely pseudo-technology.
The new regulations weren't decided on a whim; the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly requires that every car door must be equipped with a mechanical release handle, with an operational space of no less than 60mm×20mm×25mm, ensuring that doors can be opened by hand during rescue.
Tesla is in big trouble now, as almost all models sold domestically use hidden door handles, and correcting this will require new molds and circuit adjustments, with the cost for the molds of four car doors reaching 4-6 million yuan.
I dare say that Elon Musk didn't pay any attention to safety hazards before, until global complaints increased, the US launched investigations, Europe began drafting new regulations, and China directly issued a ban, forcing him to make changes.
New energy vehicle companies are also panicking; 60% of the top 100 best-selling models use hidden door handles, with models like the Wenjie M7 and Zeekr urgently switching to semi-hidden designs, fearing they won't meet the implementation deadline in 2027.
Don't think it's as simple as just changing a handle; the door structure and crash tests all have to be redone. Insiders from GAC have revealed that the entire rectification process is time-consuming and costly, and small manufacturers might be eliminated directly.
Northern car owners have the most say; in winter, it's common for hidden handles to freeze after snow, and some need to pour hot water, while others use a hairdryer, which can drive people crazy when they're in a hurry to leave.
Ironically, the original intention of the hidden handle design was to reduce aerodynamic drag and increase range, but in practice, this slight advantage is completely outweighed by safety risks, purely sacrificing practicality for aesthetics.
China's ban has already attracted global attention, with European regulatory agencies following up to formulate rules, and American media have acknowledged that China's safety standards are set to lead globally.
Tesla is still battling compensation lawsuits in the US, with families of the Wisconsin tragedy seeking billions, and now they have to deal with China's new regulations; Musk is truly besieged on all sides.
Safety has never been a trivial matter; door handles may seem inconspicuous, but they can save lives at critical moments. China's intervention this time aims to put an end to flashy but impractical pseudo-technology.
What do you think, readers? Feel free to discuss in the comments.