2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Crossing the desert and other anxieties in our long-term, Tesla Model S.

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mfennell

The door handles are certainly an example of a solution to a non-problem. How much engineering effort was burned on them?

zhangrenhou

I doubt that there will be many bears between the condo and the beach house, but you do make a good point.

johng33

You should try letting your fingers get "mashed" by the handles. Put them in, hold them against the car BODY (not the handle) and press the remote top once to lock the car and they will retract.

You will find it is just a gentle pressure. It turns out that they are just held in by a light spring tension - it is the moving out that is motor driven. Would not even hurt a young child.

Now try it again but this time hold the handle like you were opening the door. As it starts to retract, just pull on it. This is the normal reaction of most people if they were not prepared for the handle to retract. In this example, you won't get mashed at all - you will simply hold the handle away from the car.

For a final fun test, find four people who don't have a clue. Show them how the handles retract then offer a contest - $5 for the person that can keep their hands in the handles the longest. You'll probably have a couple people yank their hands out as soon as they retract. That's the emotional response that had you worried. Pay the remaining folk their $5 and have a good laugh.

mayhemm

@mfennell: A little lesson in aerodynamics, things that stick out cause more drag than things that are flush. Less drag means better fuel economy. Electric vehicles have historically had a limited range. Better fuel economy provides more range. I don