About that "yoke" steering wheel

[lardlad00]

Have you driven a Model S with a yoke yet?

No, and as far as I know there is no opportunity to do so other than just buying one.

Regardless, I don't need to test it to see that emergency steering is impossible with the yoke:

 

[Tam]

...OH GOD WHAT SHOULD I DO?!...

I've never used crutches before, but if I am forced to buy to use them, I'll learn to do that just fine because others can do it already so I'll be able to do it!

Humans are adaptable so even though the yoke is an inconvenience with half of the rounded wheel is chopped off, I think you'll learn how to work with less just fine.

 

[lardlad00]

I'd just like to point out that there was much rendering of clothes and gnashing of teeth when Steve Jobs/Apple:

• Removed SCSI and Parallel ports in favor of this new-fangled "Universal Serial Bus"
• Removed diskette drives (remember those?)
• Removed CDROM drives (remember those??)
• Deleted all laptop ports except for USB-C/Thunderbolt
• Removed the physical keyboard from smartphones (omg what!!)

all of which were going to be doom, DOOOOOM for everyone! Run for your lives! But I think this all turned out OK in the end.


TL;DR: visionaries are a PITA sometimes

These are terrible comparisons because each one provided a substantial benefit.

• USB is much faster and easier to configure
• Floppy disk drives were quickly approaching obsolescence and better alternatives were available
• Same with CD-Roms
• Removing infrequently used ports provides opportunity to save space
• Removing physical keyboards allows for a substantially larger, nicer screen

Now what advantage is offered by removing stalks and half the steering wheel?

 

[lardlad00]

I've never used crutches before, but if I am forced to buy to use them, I'll learn to do that just fine because others can do it already so I'll be able to do it!

Humans are adaptable so even though the yoke is an inconvenience with half of the rounded wheel is chopped off, I think you'll learn how to work with less just fine.

This is not a very convincing argument at all. I'm sure I'll get by with it. But what happens when I have to quickly steer around something and I reach for the steering wheel only to find it missing?

 

[CyberGus]

Unlike New York City, out here in California we hardly ever use the horn. Can't hear 'em on the freeway anyway.

The only time I hear a horn here in Central Texas, it's from a car with California plates.

Or from my car, but that's different lol

 

[CyberGus]

These are terrible comparisons because each one provided a substantial benefit.

• USB is much faster and easier to configure
• Floppy disk drives were quickly approaching obsolescence and better alternatives were available
• Same with CD-Roms
• Removing infrequently used ports provides opportunity to save space
• Removing physical keyboards allows for a substantially larger, nicer screen

Now what advantage is offered by removing stalks and half the steering wheel?

The milestones I listed were prescient in hindsight, but were resoundingly denounced at the time.

• USB: "There are no peripherals yet! Where do I get cables??"
• Floppies: "OMG, how am I supposed to install AOL without a floppy drive?"
• CDROM: "Great, we can't use our computers to play music or watch movies ever again"
• On-screen keyboard: "Too hard to use. Lack of physical buttons will get you murdered while fumbling to dial 911"

The point I'm making is that nothing ever changes, until somebody changes it, and it's not always clear that the change is a good one. Perspective takes time.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Yeah, a

Those that have tested the car have said it's annoying to use at lower speeds, exactly as I feared.

A test drive is not enough time to get used to something new. One of the actual owners of a Plaid on YouTube said it was awkward for the first full day of driving, but by the 2nd day, he was used to it and preferred it over the round wheel.

 

[lardlad00]

The milestones I listed were prescient in hindsight, but were resoundingly denounced at the time.

The arguments for those moves were clear at the time, though. We knew USB was better. We knew floppies were going to disappear. Sure there are always people who want to cling to the old way as long as possible, and Apple/Jobs pushed that decision up sooner than it might have otherwise happened. But the advantages were clear from the beginning.

The difference here, and what irritates me so very much about comparing these moves to those of Apple/Jobs, is that there is no argument whatsoever about why a yoke is better or why stalks are inferior. Elon himself has made no argument. You have made no argument. The single, only benefit I have seen anyone suggest is that it clears up the view of the cluster, which almost nobody thinks is an actual problem and which Elon was supposed to have fixed already by removing the cluster altogether.

What's particularly annoying about this is that a year from now when people are still buying the yoke, begrudgingly or not, the same people will go back and say, "See! It turns out the yoke is just fine!" without any suggestion that it actually improved anything. Same as with the M3 center screen. Those people who want the center screen have no other choice so they just live with it, which people interpret as it being a great success. No, because people just choose to deal with a design change does not make it successful, and unfortunately it will be a while until we have robust competition to prove that point.

 

[lardlad00]

One of the actual owners of a Plaid on YouTube said it was awkward for the first full day of driving, but by the 2nd day, he was used to it and preferred it over the round wheel.

He's also a Tesla apologist and, as one of the first 25 owners, not exactly an objective judge. Motortrend, who I trust far more than a first-25 buyer, said:

We went into our steering yoke experience with an open mind, but the more time we spent with the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid, the less we liked it.

Something as basic as a steering wheel should not take a day or multiple days to get used to. It shouldn't take 5 minutes to get used to. There's literally no problem with a normal steering wheel that the yoke is fixing. So why?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

He's also a Tesla apologist and, as one of the first 25 owners, not exactly an objective judge. Motortrend, who I trust far more than a first-25 buyer, said:



Something as basic as a steering wheel should not take a day or multiple days to get used to. It shouldn't take 5 minutes to get used to. There's literally no problem with a normal steering wheel that the yoke is fixing. So why?

And how much advertising money does Motortrend get from Tesla? Don't be so gullible to trust the pay-for-play media companies to be "objective judges."

 

[Dan D.]

We could remove the accelerator and brake pedals too, replace them with buttons on the yoke.
Would it work? Sure.
Would you get used to it? Sure.

Could you replace the yoke with a sidestick? Sure, you'd get used to it too.

Legalities aside, these don't seem like good ideas to me either. You're losing fine control. Control that is not being replaced by any of the Autoxxxx Beta features.

 

[MarcG]

There's literally no problem with a normal steering wheel that the yoke is fixing. So why?

Better visibility to the instrument cluster.

 

[Wheely]

The milestones I listed were prescient in hindsight, but were resoundingly denounced at the time.

• USB: "There are no peripherals yet! Where do I get cables??"
• Floppies: "OMG, how am I supposed to install AOL without a floppy drive?"
• CDROM: "Great, we can't use our computers to play music or watch movies ever again"
• On-screen keyboard: "Too hard to use. Lack of physical buttons will get you murdered while fumbling to dial 911"

The point I'm making is that nothing ever changes, until somebody changes it, and it's not always clear that the change is a good one. Perspective takes time.

All of those presented advantages to offset the concerns. The yolk and lack of stalks offers no advantages that I have heard of.

 

[Wheely]

Better visibility to the instrument cluster.

VW solved this enormous problem that everyone has been moaning about for years with the ID4 and yet managed to keep a round steering wheel. Frankly a square steering wheel would have been better.

 

[Promo714]

Is anyone else here really struggling with purchasing a new S with the yoke?

I ordered the day it was announced. I figured there was no way that the yoke would be the only option, and renderings of a standard wheel had already leaked.

Now here we are and I have a delivery appointment ready to schedule. There is apparently no option for a standard wheel.

I hate the yoke. I think it's a ridiculous idea that is annoying at best and potentially deadly at worst. I also hate that stalks were removed but I can probably get past that.

I love everything else about the car and I would love to take delivery. But holy crap the yoke just ruins it for me.

OH GOD WHAT SHOULD I DO?!

I have an S on order and was hoping Tesla would come to their senses and offer a round wheel before my delivery date. At the same time I decided to order an M3P as a back up (I currently drive a 2018 LR 3 and had a 2015 S before that). At this point the 3 will be available in a couple weeks and I'm going to take delivery and cancel the S. I'll circle back around on an S in a year or two IF they offer a round wheel.

 

[Promo714]

I have an S on order and was hoping Tesla would come to their senses and offer a round wheel before my delivery date. At the same time I decided to order an M3P as a back up (I currently drive a 2018 LR 3 and had a 2015 S before that). At this point the 3 will be available in a couple weeks and I'm going to take delivery and cancel the S. I'll circle back around on an S in a year or two IF they offer a round wheel.

As a follow up, my decision is based on personal preference and not necessarily on concerns over safety. While it may be something that is easy-ish to adapt to and relatively safe, only time will tell. I'm willing to wait.

 

[Wheely]

I have an S on order and was hoping Tesla would come to their senses and offer a round wheel before my delivery date. At the same time I decided to order an M3P as a back up (I currently drive a 2018 LR 3 and had a 2015 S before that). At this point the 3 will be available in a couple weeks and I'm going to take delivery and cancel the S. I'll circle back around on an S in a year or two IF they offer a round wheel.

I was in a similar position. I have a 2017 X and wanted to replace it with a new X but don't want a ridiculous yoke or turn signals on a moving target. Instead I bought an M3P which arrived last week though have kept my existing X too for now I just don't know what to do next to replace the X and am seriously looking at other manufacturers now. There are so many new interesting options. The new Nio, the EV6-GT and the Audi RS to name a few. Tesla have a fantastic drive train and a comedy cock pit plus they are all starting to look the same inside with no individuality and character. Elon should step aside now and concentrate on getting us to Mars.

 

[SK360]

This thread is entertaining with the Yoke apologists trying to justify this publicity stunt.

 

[CyberGus]

Yoke, no yoke, IDGAF. I'm just amused that anyone is surprised that Elon does things that seem insane. Is it crazy, or is it genius? Maybe it's both!

 

[Sbaimo]

Yoke, no yoke, IDGAF. I'm just amused that anyone is surprised that Elon does things that seem insane. Is it crazy, or is it genius? Maybe it's both!

I am not looking forward to the Yoke or the stalkless part. I will adapt, but I do not understand why they went this way other than it looks really cool or different. If yoke was variable and did not need to be turned a full revolution to park, etc. I would feel better about it. I just don't know how my hands will rest on yoke vs wheel during long drives etc. Not a make or break deal for me. Just sayin