Tesla Model 3 vehicles for sale at a Tesla facility in Fremont, Calif., on May 23, 2023. Carlos Barria/Reuters
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is facing a second investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over issues with door handles on its top-selling compact sedans and SUVs.
The NHTSA on Dec. 23 opened a probe to determine whether the door handles on nearly 180,000 Model 3 sedans made in 2022 were unlabeled, hidden, and too difficult to access during an emergency. The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a safety complaint in November that cited a head-on collision in 2023 in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
