Some tragic news on this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c203q2ywn88o

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15111441/Man-two-children-burn-alive-inside-Tesla-crashed-burst-flames-rescuers-unable-work-cars-door-handles.html

I don't see it as exclusively a Tesla or EV issue, though. Lots of cars seem to have these nowadays, whether for aerodynamic or purely aesthetic reasons, and I certainly don't like the idea.

The engineers who saw this coming 45 years ago when they suppressed the windows handles are now long retired.

Read this the other day but still can't fathom out why the firemen couldn't smash in the windows and take that route.

So that sounds like a Tesla design issue, probably electric only. But it should've failed homologation for that

The Jay EL aRe versions still have manual cables attached so you can pull the handle out manually and open the doors like a conventional door handle

1 hour ago, Ian Lanc said:

Read this the other day but still can't fathom out why the firemen couldn't smash in the windows and take that route.

Nor me.

Even though the side windows are probably laminated the Fire service should know how to get through them

But these things do burn quick and quite intensively, it's all about time and access 

1 hour ago, Ian Lanc said:

Read this the other day but still can't fathom out why the firemen couldn't smash in the windows and take that route.

I got the impression from some reports that in some cases the "rescuers" were just passers-by etc. But in other cases "emergency services" are definitely mentioned. As Dave says, time and access would be factors and you'd really have to see what actually happened.

The side windows of the Tesla like many American cars, come with reinforced laminated glass which will with stand even a direct blow from an axe. It takes several blows to create a hole in the window, and even then it would be hard to get a person through it.

Half of all Tesla models have no mechanical means to open the doors from the inside and instead rely on pure electrically powered door latches. Later models do have emergency mechanical door release cables but these are hidden away in the door pockets, and in some models they are covered by a trim panel which has to be pulled off first.

With all Tesla models there is no means to open the doors from the outside other than by the concealed electrically operated handles. In short the only way to escape from a Tesla in the event of an emergency where the electric door latches fail, is to open the door from the inside using the cable release. This assumes that (a) the model is equipped with emergency release. (b) The occupants know where to find the emergency release pull cables. (c) The occupants are fully conscious and physically able to reach the emergency pull cables.

If only motor manufactures could develop a simple mechanical door handle that could be intuitively operated even when upside down in a burning vehicle !!

6 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

Nor me.

Even though the side windows are probably laminated the Fire service should know how to get through them

But these things do burn quick and quite intensively, it's all about time and access 

Had to google what sort of glass is fitted to Tesla's...... Read the last one about the cybertruck!! Just WHY, not like it's military is it 😐

Types of Glass Used in Tesla Vehicles

• Laminated glass: 

  This is used in windshields and some side windows and consists of two layers of glass with a plastic interlayer (like polyvinyl butyral or PVB) in between. The plastic layer holds the glass together if it breaks, preventing dangerous shards. 

   
• Tempered glass: 

  This is commonly used for the side windows and is designed to shatter into small, relatively harmless pieces if it breaks, unlike regular glass. 

   
• Acoustic laminated glass: 

  This type of glass features a special plastic or resin layer to dampen road and wind noise, enhancing cabin comfort. 
  
  Armoured  glass:
  This type is used on Cybertruck's "armor glass" is a two-ply laminated product consisting of an external layer of borosilicate glass and an internal layer of aluminosilicate glass. An adhesive interlayer binds the layers, designed for durability to prevent scratches, chips, and cracks. While marketed for strength, the windows famously failed a demonstration when hit with a steel ball, breaking the glass but not the structure, though they did not shatter. 
  
   

I didn't know this about Teslas or American cars in general.  But it does make sense in some (possibly many?) areas of the USA.  Drivers are much more likely to be involved in a car jacking using heavy weapons than they are to be trapped inside a flaming car.  

Difficult to choose between your safety from outside intruders, and safety from outside assistance in the event of an accident or fire.

 

I've always had a similar thought about steering wheel airbags.  I understand they're likely to save lives in a high speed motorway impact.  However, I used to drive a lot of tight, single track, backroads.  Every blind bend I approached slowly, leaning forward for better visibility, was concerned about someone else flying round the corner from the other direction and the airbag blowing up in my face and snapping my neck...

37 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Drivers are much more likely to be involved in a car jacking using heavy weapons than they are to be trapped inside a flaming car.  

But they can always use their own assault rifle to blast their way out of the car!