It may be the looming post accident battery safety realities that has caused this...it's possible a massive recall or worse is in the works for Tesla given the volatility of damaged batteries catching fire repeatedly after accidents. https://electrek.co/2018/05/10/tesla-battery-reignited-days-...
Why on Earth would that require a recall? Hundreds of gas powered cars catch fire every day. The only difference is first responders expect and know how to handle gas fires. They will learn to handle batteries too.
In a complete loss of power can the doors be opened? This is unclear to me. I don't own a Tesla and am genuinely wondering.
The difference to a gas car could be that you can't get out of a Tesla if there is a fire.
I think I read in a teardown of the Model 3 that the rear door handles didn't have mechanical options as a backup for safety.
Overall I don't particularly like flashy overcomplicated things which is what these door handles seem to me. I'm curious for any rebuttal though.