Here’s how Rivian changed the R2’s manual release of the tailgate

There’s been a lot of opposition to electronic door handles lately, with several automakers — especially Tesla — being accused of making manual door unlocks so difficult that they’re difficult to find and access during emergencies. Rivian is one of the companies that has reportedly decided to change this with its upcoming R2 SUV, and a series of first-look videos released on Tuesday gave us a look at what the company has changed.

First, the front doors open from the inside in the same way as on current R1 vehicles. There is an electronic button that opens the door, and there is a manual door release latch mounted on the front of the interior handle.

The rear doors also have an electronic button, as well as a change to the rear manual version.

In R1 vehicles, passengers must first pull a panel from the door to access the “release cord” that operates the manual latch. In the new R2 SUV, Rivian has moved this release cord to the same position of the front handle as the manual versions of the front seat — although it’s still tucked behind a piece of plastic that has to be taken out, making it a little more difficult to access than the manual versions of the front door.

The R2 SUV is not scheduled to go into production for a few more months, so the company has not put out proper instructions on how to get to this version. But here’s an image from a new video posted by Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything:

It doesn’t pull the actual cord, but it’s the best illustration I’ve seen yet of what passengers will need to do if they’re in an R2 that has lost power for whatever reason, limiting the car’s electronic door release.

The manual release is still behind a piece of plastic, and it’s not the most obvious or accessible way to open the door from the inside. But at least he’s in a more logical place than just hiding behind the plate.

These types of situations don’t happen often. But when it does happen, it’s usually during a major accident. This means that every moment can be the difference between life and death.

Rivian isn’t alone in rehashing how difficult it is to access manual versions. The most famous example is Tesla. Bloomberg News found at least 15 deaths in accidents where there is evidence that passengers (or rescuers) were unable to open the doors. The company said it will change the way its handles are designed in order to address the problem.

Electronic door latches can cause other problems. Last year, Ford had to issue a recall to fix a problem with the power delivery of the Mustang Mach-E’s electronic latches.