The why is pretty well understood, no investigation needed. I don't like the design but it's because the doors are electronic and people don't know where the manual release is.

In a panic people go on muscle memory, which is push the useless button. They don't remember to pull the unmarked unobtrusive handle that they may not even know exists.

If it was up to me, sure have your electronic release, but make the manual release a big handle that looks like the ejection handle on a jet (yellow with black stripes, can't miss it).

* Or even better, have the standard door handle mechanically connected to the latch through a spring loaded solenoid that disengages the mechanism. Thus when used under normal conditions it does the thing electronically but the moment power fails the door handle connects to the manual release.

Or just use normal handles, inside and outside, like other cars. What they've done is made things worse by any objective metric in exchange for a "huh, nifty" that wears off after a few weeks.

I think this is the way. Light pull does the electronic thing. Hard pull does the mechanical thing. They could have done this with the mechanical handle that's there already (that I have pulled almost every time I've used a Tesla, getting anger and weather stripping inspection from the owner).

There are situations where manual release has not worked

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-manually-open-tesla-d...

The article you provided does not say that. The only failure related to the manual release it mentions is that using it breaks the window.

> Exton said he followed the instructions for the manual release to open the door, but that this "somehow broke the driver's window."

it's worse than that, at least in ours, the backseat latches are under some mat, literally hidden. i had no idea it was there for the first 6 months.

That's at the behest of the federal government. Child lock rules require they aren't accessible.

I’ve seen an innovative car with a single door release. As you pull it, it first triggers the electronic mechanism (which lowers the window a bit, which is useful in a door with no frame above the window) and then, as you pull it farther, it mechanically unlatches the door.

Tesla should build their doors like this. Oh, wait, the car I’m talking about is an older Tesla. Maybe Tesla should remember how to build doors like this.

It's not very 'innovative' these days. My 2012 Mini Cooper has it.

The inside trunk release on most cars has a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent color handle

that's just bad ux