Tesla recalls nearly 3 million vehicles in China over door handles and driver monitoring

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Tesla is recalling close to 3 million vehicles in China to address two separate safety problems, according to notices filed with China's State Administration for Market Regulation. The larger of the two covers roughly 2.98 million Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles over an issue with the electronically operated, retractable door handles.

The problem shows up specifically in severe crashes. If a collision knocks out the car's low voltage electrical system, the door handles can become difficult or impossible to operate from either inside or outside the vehicle, which could trap occupants and slow down rescue efforts. Tesla says it will fix this by adding warning labels to the affected cars and pushing an over the air software update so the windows automatically roll down after a crash is detected.

The second recall is unrelated and covers about 2.74 million domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built between March 2019 and December 2025. This one addresses the driver attention monitoring system, which currently leans mainly on a steering wheel torque sensor to judge whether a driver is paying attention. Tesla will push a free software update that adds active interior camera tracking on top of the torque sensor, a change meant to catch drivers who've found ways to trick the current system.

Tesla wasn't alone here either. Eight other automakers issued their own recalls at the same time as part of a broader crackdown, after Chinese regulators tightened rules around flush, electronically controlled door handles following incidents where occupants couldn't be freed from crashed vehicles in time. Starting in 2027, new car models sold in China will need to meet specific design requirements for emergency door releases, so this recall is really just Tesla getting ahead of a rule change that's about to apply to the entire industry

Tesla recalls 3 million vehicles in China over doorhandle safety, driver monitoringwww.cnbc.com