Tesla is recalling 2,975,910 vehicles in China after the country’s market regulator determined that its emergency door release is too hard to find and operate in a crash.

It’s Tesla’s largest-ever recall in China, and it lands as the automaker’s door design faces mounting legal and regulatory pressure on two continents. Several other automakers who followed Tesla into similarly designed door releases have also issued similar recalls.

According to a filing with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the recall covers 973,156 domestically built Model 3s, 1,956,713 domestically built Model Ys, 35,590 imported Model 3s, 8,328 imported Model Xs, and 2,123 imported Model Ss.

The regulator’s concern isn’t the flush exterior handles that Tesla popularized. It’s the interior emergency mechanical release — the manual backup that lets occupants open a door when the car loses power.

SAMR says the release is difficult to identify and operate because it closely matches the color of the surrounding interior trim. In a severe crash that disables the electrical system, the regulator warns, occupants could struggle to get out.

Tesla filed the recall plan under China’s Regulations on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products. The remedy is not a hardware change to the door mechanism. Instead, Tesla will add warning labels and push an over-the-air software update that changes how the windows lower to aid escape. The recall takes effect September 25, 2026.

Eight other automakers filed recalls with SAMR on the same day for the same interior-release problem, including Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Xpeng, Geely, Chery, Dongfeng, BAIC BluePark, and FAW.

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