Trouble opening Tesla’s doors dates back to the early days of the Model S. An otherwise positive New York Times review published in September 2012 described opening the sedan’s doors as a multistep process that sometimes required several attempts. “Tesla sometimes takes its urge to reinvent too far,” the author wrote.

You’re at the baseball field. You just dropped your kid off. Midway through a peaceful walk to the bleachers, your phone buzzes: “A door on your Tesla Model X is open.” No problem, you think. Open the app, tap a button, done, right? Wrong. Because ...