Tesla is an icon of electric vehicle innovation. With the recent addition of the Cybertruck, there are now five models in addition to the four, but the reason for its continued popularity despite the lack of significant design changes is that internal innovation continues, and popularity persists, particularly among young adults.


Tesla focuses on relatively high-end models, so its prices are on the very high side.

With the Model Y, which has been manufactured at the Shanghai factory since the year before last and is over 20 million won cheaper by excluding some options and featuring an LFP battery, being distributed in a situation where it is out of reach for those who want to buy it, it is enjoying the greatest popularity.

It is increasing its sales rate to over 30,000 units in the domestic market last year and over 20,000 units this year, and holds an extremely high market share for a manufacturer that sells only electric vehicles.

In particular, it can be described as a model that becomes a 'moving mobile phone' that improves into a smarter vehicle as software updates are continuously performed through real-time over-the-air (OTA) updates as the vehicle ages.

However, at the same time, negative perceptions have grown as the practice of selling only online without dealers in the domestic market, dealing with issues regarding domestic job creation and the lack of a public relations department, and consumer dissatisfaction, as well as sending profits to one's home country without making any social contribution or spending a single penny despite selling so much, has been continuously criticized.

The biggest problem, indeed, is the lack of safety awareness regarding transportation and the resulting absence of safety devices, due to the short history of producing only electric vehicles rather than being a car manufacturer that started with internal combustion engine vehicles.

Existing internal combustion engine manufacturers emphasize the importance of safety from a fundamental perspective, utilizing a dual safety system where both electrical and mechanical functions operate to provide a sufficiently long window of time for escape in the event of an accident. I would say that installation is the standard.

Therefore, as the electrification of recent automobiles expands, the importance of electric energy is emphasized, and it can be said that sufficient safety is ensured by allowing the opening and closing of doors, etc., to be freely operated by mechanical means when the power goes out in an emergency.

However, electric vehicle manufacturers with a short history have a weak awareness or concept regarding this, and as a result, safety devices are lacking, leading to various accidents in the global market, including numerous fatalities.

The point is that electric vehicle manufacturers such as China's Huawei have similar aspects, and Tesla is no exception.

Specifically, regarding the real-time over-the-air (OTA) update feature like Tesla, it can be said that existing manufacturers focused on not doing it rather than being unable to do it.

It can be said that we have proceeded with great caution, as performing software updates while driving could lead to an accident if a problem with safety-related software occurs even momentarily.

While Tesla proceeded bravely and other manufacturers followed suit, it can be said that there were also very reckless and incomplete aspects.

The most lacking area among these is the issue of recessed hidden doors on the interior and exterior of the door.

One of the recent trends gaining popularity is a design that incorporates recessed exterior door handles to ensure design unity and facilitate aerodynamic flow.

While the increasing number of such models is fully understandable, this is because in winter, exterior handles freeze, making it impossible to open the doors, leading to instances where people resort to using lighters to melt the ice. Furthermore, there have been many serious crises during electric vehicle emergencies, such as fires, where firefighters were unable to open the doors.

The reason for restoring the exterior door handles to their original state can also be seen as a consideration for such emergency measures.

Therefore, the door handThe buried type of catch is not a very desirable design.

A bigger problem is the limitation that the interior door handles are also installed in a recessed manner, preventing escape from the inside to the outside.

Since the interior door handles on all Tesla models are recessed, it is very difficult to open the doors if the electric vehicle's power goes out.

In this case, depending on the model, various follow-up measures are required, such as lifting the door trim and activating a separate switch, or some doors lack this function entirely, making it impossible to take action in an emergency.

In fact, if a vehicle catches fire or falls into water, it is a natural reaction for a driver to instinctively pull the handle rather than follow proper procedures to open the door in a situation where they are unable to think clearly.

The operation of safety devices such as emergency escape of such vehicles is a core mandatory condition under the domestic automobile management law.

About 10 years ago, while serving as the chairperson at a National Assembly policy seminar on automotive safety devices, I mentioned the lack of relevant devices in Tesla, and since then, I have frequently mentioned improvements hundreds of times in related meetings, broadcasts, and columns.

Due to the Korea-US FTA, even if domestic automobile management laws were violated, an official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy requested improvements from the US as the superior law, but there were no cases of improvement at all.

In addition to this, Tesla was always in the spotlight for various violations of the Automobile Management Act, including violations of the mandatory OBD2 information requirement.

Due to the aforementioned issue with the recessed interior door handle, an accident also occurred in Korea where the driver died after being unable to escape following a fire in a Tesla electric vehicle. There are numerous cases of casualties caused by similar problems in various countries overseas, such as the United States and China.

Even if it did not result in death, there are countless cases where people were rescued from the outside because they could not escape from inside the vehicle.

As numerous similar accidents have recently occurred, public institutions in the U.S. and China have conducted direct investigations. In response to moves toward strong measures such as recalls and fines, Tesla expressed its intention to voluntarily make improvements.

In particular, the structural change of the interior door handle mentioned earlier from a recessed type to a protruding type, as well as the improvement plan to integrate the existing electronic control structure based on electric energy with a method based on mechanical operation, can be described as a method of operation.

It is all the more regrettable that the requests for various improvement measures, such as demands for improvement from the U.S. headquarters through policy debates in the National Assembly—which I have emphasized for over a decade—were continuously ignored, only to be hastily quelled once investigations into a significant number of Tesla vehicles began in earnest in major countries.

While Tesla's internal improvements are certainly a given, I hope this serves as an opportunity to set an example through objective investigation results, leading to punitive damages and severe punishment for the numerous casualties that occurred in the global market as a result.

As the issue of battery power cutoff in Tesla vehicles has recently come to the forefront as serious concerns, anxiety regarding Tesla vehicles is escalating globally.

This is an issue that requires significant attention at the government level, as serious safety problems can arise at any time.

It is particularly ironic that sales of Chinese-made Tesla vehicles continue in Korea, centered on enthusiasts, even amidst the many serious problems occurring.

At the same time, similar global electric vehicle manufacturers are taking this opportunity to raise awareness of safety regarding not only interior door handles but also exterior handles. I hope this serves as an opportunity to reflect and improve.

Recently, movements such as electrification are proceeding with a focus on future mobility, but depending on the situation, I hope this serves as an opportunity to strengthen safety measures by incorporating traditional mechanical systems, particularly for safety-related devices, to create two or three layers of safety.