Rivian is reworking a key element of its vehicle doors after employees and customers raised concerns over potential safety issues with the current design, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report says Rivian plans to incorporate “a manual release that is more clearly visible and located near the electrically powered interior handles in the rear doors” of its upcoming SUV, the R2.
The model is planned to be released in the first half of 2026 with prices starting at $45,000 for the entry-level trim.
In mid September, Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen said the company is “working on” redesigning its door handles so they are less likely to trap people inside their cars.
Also last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into Tesla’s door handles, and one week after a Bloomberg investigation highlighted multiple instances where owners or passengers were stuck in their cars following a crash.
The NHTSA opened last month its investigation after the agency said it had received nine complaints from Tesla owners who experienced a failure with their door handles.
In four of those cases, the safety agency said the owners had to break a window “to regain entry into the vehicle.”
Besides the US, the topic is also becoming a discussion in China.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has recently released a draft of its new safety standards that specifically target concealed and electronic door handles, requiring Tesla to redesign its door handles.
Yet hidden handles are widespread in China’s NEV market. About 60% of the top 100 selling NEVs in April featured them, local media recently reported.
The Nio ES8, Li Auto i8, Xiaomi YU7, and the XPeng P7 models all feature such handles.
Rivian this week published footage of its upcoming R2 SUV fording water at a company test site, underscoring the automaker’s efforts to highlight durability testing.
The release coincides with Rivian building hundreds of production-intent prototypes of the R2, which it says are now in real-world testing and final validation ahead of launch.
Rivian shares fell further on Friday, extending losses from the prior session when the company cut its 2025 delivery guidance for the second time this year, even as it reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter deliveries of 13,201 vehicles.
