A Tesla Model Y is parked at a charging station in New Delhi, India, August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra/File Photo

(Reuters) - Tesla is looking to combine the electronic and manual door-release mechanisms, which are currently in separate locations, the company's longtime design chief, Franz von Holzhausen, said on a Bloomberg News podcast on Wednesday.

Von Holzhausen said the decision is intended to make the handles more intuitive for occupants in "a panic situation".

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had said on Tuesday it opened an investigation into about 174,000 Tesla Model Y cars from the 2021 model year over reports the electronic door handles can become inoperative.

The NHTSA noted Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside, but children may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle's driver is aware of them.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment while the NHTSA declined to comment.

Von Holzhausen said Tesla was studying details about reports of a top China regulator considering a ban on fully concealed door handles, according to the Bloomberg report.

The NHTSA has received more than 140 consumer complaints related to doors on various Tesla models getting stuck, not opening or otherwise malfunctioning since 2018, the report added.

Tesla in 2023 recalled over 120,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in the United States over the risk of doors being unlocked and opening during a crash.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)