> The flush Hyundai and Kia handles are motorized and retractable, but they can also be opened entirely mechanically without power. They are little more awkward to use when unpowered but it's entirely doable if you know how. You just push the front side in which pops out the rear grab handle part. This also how Chevy has done their Equinox EV handles which is powered on the higher trims but unpowered for the base model I believe.

So, as long as they fail safe, I think they’re fine from a form and function perspective. It’s the failing unsafely (Tesla) that’s the problem. If they do not work without power, they should fail safety testing.

They do it because it looks cool and futuristic. Just like replacing all of the physical switches with non-tactile touch-based things. Overall just reduces the vehicle's safety and increases the cost to repair. Door handles, by law should be mandated to be physical things. If you want a button that can automatically actuate the physical linkage that's fine but the handle itself should be a physical linkage to the latch.

But I guess I'm just, um, cranky.

All the forces for acceleration, braking and cornering for a vehicle are limited by the contact surface of the tyres on the road. This is drummed into you quite viscerally when you ride a motorcycle and have 100+ bhp engine and you find yourself leaned over having gone into a corner too fast. If you try to brake now that you are leaned over, your bike will skid out because you only have a contact patch about the size of the palm of your hand and your braking will use up some of the friction that would otherwise get you round the corner.[1]

Bigger tyres mean more contact with the road so you have more friction available for braking (or acceleration).

[1] on a bike your best option in this scenario is to keep your head up, look where you want to go, keep your speed constant and trust that your tyres will hold you and you’ll have a little bit of luck and not meet a patch of spilled diesel, sand, paint etc and slip out.