And yes this does reach real people...I sent two emails to them on separate topics on Friday (one with a question about Slacker and another with a suggestion for a way to bring back the old speedometer / power meter on AP cars) and both got responses from human beings within 24 hours. The former question was answered immediately, the latter suggestion was promised to be forwarded to an appropriate group within Tesla.
I also received a reply back within 24 hours. Here's what I sent them, and their reply is below:
To: Tesla <
[email protected]>
Subject: Request for v7 UI Improvements
I want to share my observations with the new v7 UI. First, I spent 30 years of my working career "managing change" with various user groups using high tech systems, so I know what a challenge large scale changes can be. I’m a senior citizen (meaning - I have old eyes). Here are are my reasoned thoughts & suggestions on the new Tesla interface. I hope you’ll pass them along to the design team and senior management:
Pros:
1) the brake light display. I’ve always wanted to know when regen was turning on the brake lights when slowing down at a stoplight.
2) the new unlock button on the 17” screen is a plus.
3) the new center AP display provides useful information on what the car is sensing around it.
4) individual tire pressure info is nice.
Needs attention:
1) the use of gray fonts on a black background is hard to see. Fonts in general need to be BIGGER, PLEASE, along with the graphic displays.
2) need more contrast throughout the displays. This is a readability issue caused in part by flattening icons and the new overall look-and-feel. There is a lack of color vs v6, especially on the touchscreen (Climate, Media, etc.). All of the gray tones are pretty boring, visually, for such a high tech car.
3) speedometer numbers around the dial are simply too dark. I can hardly see them.
4) the headlight (especially high beam) and battery charge indicators on the left are in a bad spot. When a trip map appears, it bleeds right into the light/battery indicators. Then it’s very hard to tell if high beams are on or off.
5) while I like the new speed sign showing up more often, it is simply too small. Please enlarge it.
6) date shown in the calendar app needs more contrast to make it easier to read.
7) please bring back the A/B trip meters.
8) the new clock/temp app is pretty useless.
9) the TACC speed setting is too small; it was far better and more useful when it was integrated into the speedometer.
Here’s a suggestion I hope will be given serious consideration:
Use the now available push button on the cruise control stick to toggle the main dash display between the new AP sensor view and the old Power/Speed/Regen gauge view. There are times when it’s important to pay attention to energy use, and the new smaller, harder to read/understand energy display is a step backwards.
Thank you for the time and consideration.
---------------------------------------------------
From: Tesla <
[email protected]>
Date: October 20, 2015 at 2:29:52 AM EDT
Subject: RE: Request for v7 UI Improvements
Thank you for contacting Technical Support with your feedback.
We really appreciate your feedback on our new firmware version 7.0. From your feedback we have submitted a feature request on your behalf for features that we currently don't offer. We truly can see you have a keen eye and great ideas on which we can use to improve our ever changing firmware.
We are always striving to improve our products and appreciate all of your feedback. Please email us back if you discover anything else that might improve our firmware.
Best regards,
Hassan Ali |Technical Support Specialist
45500 Fremont Blvd | Fremont, CA 94538
24/7 Support 1-877-79-TESLA
[email protected]