China is banning Tesla style retractable electronic handles

If only the US actually had a working agency like China to oversee safety.

On one side I agree with the safety concerns, but also given the current car landscape I also wonder if there is a motivation to better help their own car industry. Edit: I stand corrected the Chinese companies have done this too. Haven't seen their cars in person or the handles

You can't possibly believe what you just wrote.

Chinese cars have also jumped on the trend, it applies to home grown manufacturers as well

While we continue to let Tesla burn the drivers alive

LOL. Have you ever looked at a Chinese EV? BYD, Nio, Xiaomi, Xpeng - they all have retractable handles, they'll all have to do a redesign, just like Tesla. The only way it'd hurt Tesla more than the Chinese brands is if Tesla's engineering isn't as good as the Chinese companies, and they can't fix it.

Agent Orange is suppressing most regulations.

So far it seems most chinese EVs have them.

You can’t possibly believe that an external bystander shouldn’t be able to open the door to help occupants in an emergency.

Chinese brands will pivot fast.

The linked article title seems somewhat misleading when you read it. The requirement China is proposing is a mechanical release; they are not banning flush handles.

Sad but true

No no, see we 'muricans continue to have the freedom to burn alive. The free market will of course act rationally and penalize a company that sells an inferior product. /s

Yeah there are other flush style designs that allow for zero power keyed entry. But not Tesla style.

Come on dude, you can do better. It's literally inside the article. "From January 1, 2027, retractable EV door handles will no longer be allowed on new vehicles sold in the country."

All the bullshit AI in these things and they can't just detect when there's a fire and automatically release all the door locks?

You’re joking, right?

So where is the NHTSA in Austin where Elon is beta testing his robotaxi service, sans certification or approval, on public roads, where people drive with their families? What “working” agency would allow this?

A fair few models (BYD, Kia, etc) have already switched to a new kind of pop out handle that are hinged inwards, even without power you can push on one side of the handle and the other pops out. Mercedes on their new EVs still went the retractable way and says they have a safety system that makes them pop out when an accident occurs.

Flush handles are still allowed, quite a few Chinese brands and others (Kia, BYD, etc.) have switched to a new kind of handles that supposedly meets the criteria by being hinged such that you can push on part of the handle and the rest pops out.

Screw the safety system. Simply another point of possible failure. Mechanical doorhandles can barely fail.

The article isn't perfectly accurate. Electronic-only exterior handles are being banned. They must be able to be opened repeatably with less than 500 Newtons force during a power failure. [https://chinaevhome.com/2025/12/17/chinas-miit-proposes-mandatory-gb-standard-for-vehicle-door-handles-effective-from-2027/#:\~:text=China's%20Ministry%20of%20Industry%20and,Requirements%20for%20Vehicle%20Door%20Handles](https://chinaevhome.com/2025/12/17/chinas-miit-proposes-mandatory-gb-standard-for-vehicle-door-handles-effective-from-2027/#:~:text=China's%20Ministry%20of%20Industry%20and,Requirements%20for%20Vehicle%20Door%20Handles) The draft legislation is here: https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/wjgs/art/2025/art_b6f3ad1fe8a04edebe5a84150c4ee4df.html Worth noting, Korea is considering similar legislation but recent Kia and Hyundai models already meet the proposed requirements.

Agreed, that being said the interior handle is mechanical (electronic release but if you pull more then it’s mechanical). Unlike some cars where it’s a button and then some emergency release hidden somewhere…

And BYD et al will do it overnight while US and Euro brands will beg for years to adopt.

Retractable and flush are two different things that give you the same look. The key difference is flush is mechanical and not electronic. Having read about this over the summer, the writing has been on the wall for a while now that a ban on electric retractable handles were coming so it's not surprising Chinese EV makers with a history of pivoting fast have already pivoted.

And why do the Chinese all have this same nonsensical feature? Because they were copying.... Tesla!

I actually hate the stupid things.

EXACTLY. Billionaires pay for MAGA officials to look the other way.

Probably so. BYD at least has the advantage that most of their models had mechanical handles up till a couple of years ago, so they just have to drag out the old blueprints. I do find it a bit ironic that Elon "move fast and break things" Musk runs a company that almost certainly can't move fast on a redesign like this.

The picture is misleading because it shows a newer Model 3 or Model Y doorhandle. These handles will still be allowed in China, because you can open them at any time. (You have to push the left corner to raise the handle.) We're talking about Model S handles which are not shown in the pictures. These handles are motorized and can only be driven out as long as there is some power left. (There are other parts of the ongoing investigations in China and in the US that also affect current models, especially the accessibility of the mechanical handles in the cabin. Just the one picture of the handle is misleading.)

None of his companies actually manage to do "move fast and break things".

Good. Other countries like the US should follow.

LOL - You cannot be serious.