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Auto safety regulators in the United States (US) have launched a preliminary investigation against Tesla due to problems with the door handles of some Model Y vehicles reopening, according to foreign media reports. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its initial assessment is for the 2021 Tesla Model Y.

The agency said low battery voltage can cause a vehicle's electronic door handles to become inoperative and hinder vehicle re-entry. NHTSA has received nine reports of people unable to open the doors of 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles.

The foreign media said citing agency the most commonly reported situation was that parents got out of the car after driving and tried to remove the child from the rear seat or put the child in the rear seat before driving away.

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NHTSA said that in these cases, parents were unable to open the door to enter the vehicle, and in four cases, people were reported to have broken a window to enter the car.

Although the vehicles have manual door releases, NHTSA said the child may not be able to reach or operate them. This may result in the person being unable to remove the child from the car immediately.

The agency said these incidents occur when the electronic door locks receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle. It said available repair invoices indicate that batteries were replaced after such incidents. None of those who reported incidents saw a low-voltage battery warning before the exterior door handles malfunctioned.

NHTSA said its initial assessment will focus on the scope and severity of the situation, including the risks posed by the conditions that have been reported to them. The agency's investigation will also assess the approach used by Tesla to supply power to the door locks and the reliability of the power supply applied.

NHTSA said the investigation is currently focused on the operability of the electronic door locks from outside the vehicle, as this is the only case where there is no manual way to open the door.

The agency said it will continue to monitor reports of someone trapped inside a vehicle by opening the door and will take further action as needed.

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