Tesla Is Redesigning Door Handles That Drew Safety Scrutiny (1)

Tesla Inc. is working on a redesign of its door handles, which have drawn scrutiny over safety incidents that trapped passengers inside their vehicles.

Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s longtime design chief, said the company is looking to combine the electronic and manual door-release mechanisms, which are currently in separate locations. He said the decision is intended to make the handles more intuitive for occupants in “a panic situation.”

“The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense,” he said Wednesday in an interview for Bloomberg’s Hot ...