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Frame from Model 3 Emergency Mechanical Door Release Demo Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Model 3 Emergency Mechanical Door Release Demo

EveryAmp
Demos
YouTube
1 HN user recommended this demo1 month2021–2024 score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN cites it in threads about Teslas trapping occupants to show how the manual release is located and used.

A short demo shows how to use the Tesla Model 3's mechanical emergency door release on the front doors as a backup to the electronic release. It notes an on-screen warning that frequent use could damage the door seals.

“Here's how to do it in a Model 3.” (HN, 2024)

1 recommendations · 2 citations · 1 critical · Demos · partly dated

4 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@gnicholas Mar 2024 Recommends
on HN thread A Mistake in a Tesla and a Panicked Final Call: The Death of Angela Chao
Yeah, I just talked with a Rivian engineer (who owns a Tesla) and he said that all these vehicles have mechanical pulls, but the problem is that they are hidden and people don't know where they are. It's kind of odd the article didn't mention this fact and enlighten the readers as to how to avoid the same fate! Here's how to do it in a Model 3. [1] Apparently it differs by vehicle. 1: [this video]
Shows how to use the mechanical door release in a Model 3.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@kingsuper20 Apr 2021 Cites it
on HN thread “Teslas are bad cars. Here are a few reasons why.”
It seems to me that they have an emergency opener. It's not the kind of thing a car manufacturer would forget about. [this video] People are funny about the love/hate Tesla continuum. My take is that they are like owning any smaller volume semi-exotic car. People who think they are crazy unreliable should talk to the ex-owners of V12 BMWs. 'lectric cars appear to be the future, but the average person could stand to wait for another generation or two of batteries and buy something like an EV Corolla.
Shows Model 3's mechanical emergency door release.
@FirmwareBurner Aug 2023 Pushes back
on HN thread Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power
Read more
>uses the manual release handle instead of the right button, and I get a warning message on the screen and the risk of breaking the window glass. Is there a technical limitation on why the manual release can't also mechanically slide down the window slightly when pulled to not damage the glass? Also, why did Tesla need to use two obscure looking buttons with no labels on them to open the door[1], when many cars use the same obvious leaver for both cases: pull on it lightly to engage the electronic un-lock, pull on it again with more force to engage the mechanical un-lock. So simple, so elegant. [1] [this video]

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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