Elaine Chao was Transportation Secretary from 2017-2021 under the Trump Administration. One of the agencies under the DOT is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees, among other things, federal motor vehicle safety standards.
By all accounts, the gear shift and reverse are controlled by a touch-screen as well, so their shoddy design is what caused her to reverse. And the doors also can’t be opened manually if the electronics fail, unless you know to remove a certain panel in the door to pull on a specific wire.
