US safety regulators have denied a request to investigate emergency door releases on 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The decision came after a single complaint from driver Kevin Clouse following a crash. At the same time, the agency moved to create new rules for all automakers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected the petition filed by Clouse on November 7, 2025. In the incident, his 2022 Model 3 lost electrical power after a head-on crash and caught fire, making electric door handles unusable.
Clouse said he could not locate the manual release and had to exit through a rear window. NHTSA reviewed the case and found only one matching complaint among nearly 180,000 vehicles of that model year.
The agency noted that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 206 addresses latch integrity but sets no requirements for the location or labeling of manual releases. It concluded the matter should be addressed through broader rulemaking rather than a defect investigation.
NHTSA granted a separate petition late last year to develop new standards requiring clear and accessible door egress controls across the auto industry.