NHTSA Probes Tesla Model 3 Emergency Door Release Issues Affecting Nearly 180,000 Vehicles
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1h ago
0mins
Source: Benzinga
- Investigation Initiated: The NHTSA launched a probe on December 23 into 179,071 Tesla Model 3 vehicles from the 2022 model year, focusing on emergency mechanical door release accessibility issues, which could impact Tesla's market reputation.
- Design Flaw Concerns: The petition highlights that the Model 3's mechanical door release is 'hidden, unlabeled, and not intuitive to locate during an emergency,' potentially preventing passengers from escaping quickly in accidents, raising significant safety concerns.
- Legal Challenges Intensify: Tesla faced lawsuits in November related to fatal accidents involving door handle designs, and the initiation of this investigation may lead to further regulatory actions, increasing the company's legal risks.
- Safety Feature Scrutiny: This investigation is part of a broader review of Tesla's safety features, as the NHTSA previously probed Model Y SUVs due to reports of children being trapped inside faulty electronic door handles, highlighting ongoing challenges in Tesla's safety technology claims.
TSLA
$485.4+Infinity%1D
Analyst Views on TSLA
Wall Street analysts forecast TSLA stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for TSLA is 384.14 USD with a low forecast of 19.05 USD and a high forecast of 600.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
34 Analyst Rating
14 Buy
10 Hold
10 Sell
Hold
Current: 485.560
Low
19.05
Averages
384.14
High
600.00
Current: 485.560
Low
19.05
Averages
384.14
High
600.00
About TSLA
Tesla, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, sells and leases high-performance fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and offers services related to its products. Its segments include automotive, and energy generation and storage. The automotive segment includes the design, development, manufacturing, sales and leasing of high-performance fully electric vehicles, and sales of automotive regulatory credits. It also includes sales of used vehicles, non-warranty maintenance services and collisions, part sales, paid supercharging, insurance services revenue and retail merchandise sales. The energy generation and storage segment include the design, manufacture, installation, sales and leasing of solar energy generation and energy storage products and related services and sales of solar energy systems incentives. Its consumer vehicles include the Model 3, Y, S, X and Cybertruck. Its lithium-ion battery energy storage products include Powerwall and Megapack.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.





