SW17LS

There is no doubt in my mind that a yoke with less touch points, moving turn signals from where they are on every other car and putting them as buttons, moving the horn away from where everybody's muscle memory is reduces safety. Just as all of these crazy e-shifter designs reduce safety. I remember driving cars in the 90s with horn buttons and pounding the airbag cover expecting the horn to be there. We had a car for 5 years with horn buttons and never got used to it, the industry moved back to center horn pads for that reason. That extra second it takes to sound the horn can be the difference between an accident and not.

I'm all for change that makes things better, but I see way too much change for the sake of change in Tesla's designs. Turn signal stalks just work, round steering wheels work, horns in the center of the wheel work. Whats the benefit of changing these things to how they work on this Tesla? I see none, but I see plenty of drawbacks.

SW17LS

Cool, perhaps. But the main control interface for a vehicle is not the place to make something "cool" over something functional.

Function follows form all over the place with Tesla.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

he also refused to drive with license plates because he felt it was unattractive.

along the same lines, apple didn't have cut and paste (!) in the iPhone for years... doesn't mean people were happy about it, but they put up with it because either, they weren't too savvy about such features, or they just overlooked it because they appreciated many other attributes. and don't get me started on the horrendous iTunes software, lol.

likely not for people who frequently drive the cars, but my concern is someone unfamiliar with one getting in it to drive. nothing will be instinctive and given what a missile this car is, i wouldn't be surprised to see a bad accident. and yes, before someone comes in again with a helicopter descent like defense, i know tesla's safety record is good. i attribute that more to the lower average buyer age and likely keen attention from above average IQ drivers.

feexed.

so i wonder when they're taking out the pedals?

spwolf

i think you should not confuse your own personal preferences with everyone elses personal preferences. Since Tesla drivers seem to be happiest with their purchase, i very much doubt this is all despite all the objections you have in their cars. That goes for me as well, of course.

New age quirky stuff is part of their DNA... others tried to emulate it - like ID3/4/5 but they seemed to have gotten it completely wrong IMHO.

SW17LS

He did, he was a hoot lol

Great example. Another example of modern post Jobs Apple is the removal of ports, which now they have put back.

Even for people who frequently drive the cars. Many many years of muscle memory kicks in when you do things out of reflex. Like I said, my Dad drove his Lincoln for 5 years and never did get used to having buttons on the spokes for a horn.

it'll happen!

Being happy with their purchase doesn't mean they prefer these changes. Look at the posts in this thread. I am very happy with my Mercedes but I hate the gearshift. I hate that there are not track forward and back buttons on the wheel. There are other design choices that I don't hate, but I prefer done another way.

And here's a question for you...and be real...would you prefer a wheel to a yoke, a turn signal stalk to buttons on the wheel, and a horn in the center of the wheel vs a button on the wheel? Be honest.

Carmakers haven't been designing cars with controls this way forever out of random. I would guess when asked well over 90% of people would prefer these things be normal if they were being honest.

AMIRZA786

I have a an lot of respect for Tesla, they are innovative, currently have the best drivetrains, battery design etc but I'm sure if you drill down and get honest answers from Tesla owners you will find that they live with the design decisions, not necessarily love them. Same with Apple users, they live with Apples limited ecosystem because mainly Apple customers are not tech savvy. I say this as someone who has worked in IT for over 30 years.

Anyway, a yoke steering wheel would be a reason I would not buy a Plaid. If I want a yoke, I'll get a plane

EZZ

It's easier to change the steering wheel than to produce 1020hp from another car. I think that's the mentality of most Plaid owners.

AMIRZA786

If you can actually change the steering wheel without compromising the car or safety, then it's not an issue. That would be something I would do day 1

patgilm

I wonder if you drove one if you would feel that strongly about it. My wife didn't want me to buy the car solely because of the yoke and a friend of mine came over and we were talking about the car and the yoke and she actually said she loves it and explained how she places her hands when driving (to which I was thinking, is that even safe?). What she really doesn't like is the turn signals and horn placement.

Like I said, there is no doubt in my mind a regular steering wheel is 100% better but the yoke itself isn't too bad, it's the implementation of it with some of the buttons.

I agree a $1,000 option would have been nice but for my needs, I'm torn as to what I would have wanted, probably a normal wheel since it's just more practical. I also drove around a bit today and noticed one thing when making turns. I make turns with one hand because it's just too difficult with two hands. For a right turn I will either place my index finger on the nub at the top right of the yoke and turn the wheel upside down where my right hand is underneath on the left side of steering column (if that makes sense) or I will use my left hand and place it on the bottom left flat part of the yoke and just flip the steering wheel to the right where the wheel is basically upside down and my left hand is on top and on the right side of the steering column (if that makes sense).

I agree. Wanting things and living with things are totally different. If you want something that meets most of your wants/needs, you learn to live with the things you don't like. There are plenty of things that I don't like but live with because the total package meets my wants/needs. It's like that with almost any car but some of the things with Tesla just seem to be more questionable.

I have a love/hate relationship with Apple. I like most of their products but some things they do drive me crazy. I'm sure it will be the same with Tesla for me. Like Apple, the positives outweigh the negatives.

SW17LS

I will at some point drive one.

Thats the crux of it, the steering wheel is better...so why not do whats better vs whats "different". Thats why I like Lucid's approach to design.

JeffKeryk

I think the yoke is lame, but I will likely never drive one or even be in one. But what do I know?

The Apple Tesla comparision is spot on; pretty much everyone who drives a Tesla for the first time calls the experience, "an iPhone on wheels".
But any mfg issues would kill Jobs; he was a stickler right down to the box his products came in.

Both Jobs and Musk strive to produce innovation. And have been rewarded for it.
And I do own stock. And the car... All good.

Toys4RJill

Neither is allowing cars with 150MPH into the neighborhood. I am more interested in how such tech might evolve such as steer by wire where Toyota has said that their yoke will only need 1/2 a turn to make what was a full turn of the wheel on a older car. Tesla will have such tech as well

SW17LS

Many many cars can go 150 MPH.

SW17LS

Then when that tech exists they can explore a yoke. Yoke absent that tech is best case just stupid, worst case its dangerous.

Toys4RJill

we have the tech now that would make fast cars safer. There is no reason to speed, so there is no doubt that a car that is driving in a 40mph zone should be locked out by gps in those zones, then when the car hits the highway, the speed should unlock to go 55mph. Haven’t driven the yoke Tesla, only the 3….I can’t wait to try it out. (But I’m more interested in the Toyota yoke version) obviously

And TBH, I am rather surprised Tesla hasn’t come out with automatic lane changing for the signal indicators. Perhaps it’s on the way.