China’s War On Tesla Door Handles + Are Ford & Geely Teaming Up?

China has banned hidden, pop-out door handles like you find on Teslas, and Patrick is thrilled. He and Tim explain why regulators are cracking down globally on electronic door handles. Then the guys explore reporting of a potential partnership between Ford and China’s Geely Group. Finally, Tim spent the day at QuantumScape’s headquarters and saw the future of solid-state battery production. 

In Plus/Minus, the guys chat about the new BMW i3 sedan and Patrick’s impressions of the very strange Polestar 4. 

Reuters story on Ford/Geely talks: 
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-geely-talks-manufacturing-technology-partnership-sources-say-2026-02-04/ 

China Just Banned One Of The Most Controversial Car Features Ever
https://insideevs.com/news/786170/china-ev-door-handles-banned/ 

BMW's Most Important Electric Car Is One Big Step Closer To Your Driveway
https://insideevs.com/news/786373/bmw-i3-production-start-munich/ 

Patrick’s review of the Polestar 4, “America’s weirdest EV”
https://insideevs.com/reviews/786314/2026-polestar-4-review/ 

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