Cook also said that issues around the Cybertruck and other new car designs come about because the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards “under-specifies” safety standards for vehicle entry (commonly described in car engineering as ingress) and exit (egress). These standards should in theory minimize the risk of injury in both normal and emergency conditions by defining the highest possible level of safety design of the door, the step height, the quality of the door grab handles, visibility, and emergency exits.

“Combined with the ‘self-certification’ contract that exists between US auto regulators and manufacturers, it is effectively left up to Tesla to design their door actuation systems and any emergency-access systems related to that,” Cook said.