Yeah we basically figured out door handles and suddenly we’re reinventing them.
If it ain’t broke.
If it ain’t broke.
But now that EV power trains are way more efficient, and batteries hold only a fraction of energy of a gas tank, drag became a major problem. Flush handles became a real aero improvement worth making. Digital mirrors are next.
Optimization is always about careful balance of objectives in light of a holistic experience. Anybody can “optimize for x” if you just ignore y and z.
It's a tradeoff. Automatically popping door handles have an obvious affordance and can be grabbed without needing some extra press first. I happen to have a car with non-electric flush handles ("chip shortage" edition), and I have to teach all of my passengers how to use them.
[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/23/man-died-...
That's a misleading summary. The driver was incapacitated, it was the first responders who couldn't open the door with the flush handles. The Model S in question has a normal, physical interior door handle. Presumably the first responder could have smashed the window and opened from the inside, but may not have had the tool. This outcome is indistinguishable from one where a first responder was presented with an ICE vehicle where the doors were locked.
…said nobody, and yet…