"Almost all input is error. Car should do the right thing automatically."

[Maximillan]

The following tweet got me thinking, and I concluded that if they did continue down this path then my next car would unlikely be a Tesla.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1481724767363338246

Two things that bothered me about this tweet:
1, it was in response to a well considered solution to the Holiday Update UI issue.
2. Everyone interacts with their car differently, however there are many people such as myself that get some joy from the little details that suit that particular situation such as on a clear freeway having TACC set to 112km/h and the Distance set to 1, but then when approaching a Prado tailgating hatchback asleep at 105km/h in the right lane setting the Distance to 3. I appreciate that AI will continue to improve, but I don't want to drive a car that removes me as the ultimate decision maker and instead guesses what I want. I don't buy into the premise that the car will learn either, even now there are some days where I'll start in Chill and then switch half way through the drive, and then back again.

In the meantime, fix the UI so that it works for drivers.

Your opinions on this may vary and that's totally cool by me. I welcome other people's thoughts on this, because what's right for you might not be right for me I just wanted to post this as today was the first time since having nothing but delight with my Tesla that I came to the realisation that I could look end up looking elsewhere once the legacy OEMs start catching up.

 

[AussieOwner]

I suppose this comes down to why you like your Tesla? Do you like the look? The company mission statement?

Lots of people like the car but dislike Elon..ect

I tend to ignore what he says and judge him on his actions.

 

[corndog]

what's right for you might not be right for me

I think this is where Elon gets it wrong. He can't seem to comprehend user preference. I fully expect they'll one day put the HVAC temperature control behind a menu. Personally, I want all the HVAC controls visible and one-touch all the time. Most people probably don't. I get that. I don't like a lot of the features many others are asking for either. I hate the idea of blind automation, and just trusting that the car is doing what I want, without even being able to see the status at a glance. Especially after experiencing the cars auto functions frequently not meeting my requirements. The solution? Everyone already knows. Just make the bottom bar properly customisable. The UI could be so damn good! And it almost is. It just misses a few super important points IMO.

 

[Maximillan]

I suppose this comes down to why you like your Tesla? Do you like the look? The company mission statement?

Lots of people like the car but dislike Elon..ect

I tend to ignore what he says and judge him on his actions.

I like the product, the car. It's phenomenal, there are so many aspects of it where it completely redefines how cars should be.

I'm ambivalent about the software, I accept the trade off between the speed of development and the bugs / flaws that it introduces. However I'm against the premise that as the owner and driver I don't get the option to decide what settings I want and that the AI can predict them for me.

 

[Maximillan]

I think this is where Elon gets it wrong. He can't seem to comprehend user preference.

Most great engineers can't, it's rare to find someone who can master both disciplines. The brilliant engineers accept that premise and delegate the UI/UX decisions to those that are good at it.

 

[Nobody Famous]

Most great engineers can't

Elon <> Engineer

 

[bruce4000]

Elons statement may be valid once they have neural link working but until then, user controls need to be available. I like the example where you can customize what’s on the top level screen, controls and indications, not just apps.

 

[paulp]

There are plenty of ‘right things’ that my car does not do automatically. At the risk of offending a few readers I’ll refrain from repeating them.
One thing that I’ve never understood is the task bar at the bottom. I have to take my eyes completely off the road to utilise it. Thats fine once we have autonomous driving, but until then the car needs to be setup for human driving. Seems to me it should all be across the top of the screen to reduce eyes off the road time. Even better let everyone choose for themself.

 

[SalisburySam]

“Almost all input is error. Car should do the right thing automatically."

Well-stated and certainly the paradigm which UI developers are targeting, with some success…for them.

For me, this is the overarching reason why my next vehicle will likely be another brand. In my Model 3 the screen replaces so much driver usability with external (from Tesla’s design team) controls. While very cool for the first year or so, current versions of HAL* have gotten more and more powerful with v11 taking major functional steps to deliver more automation while reducing driver inputs and less system status reporting, and doing so by obfuscating some status and making other inputs more cumbersome. V11 has demonstrated to me the huge value of, wait for it,…real buttons and knobs to provide driver functionality that cannot easily ever be changed during the life of the car. Buttons/knobs that can be operated wearing gloves, don’t need to be looked at to use, don’t move around the cabin, etc. I want a great electric vehicle, charging infrastructure, and automation where it makes sense to me such as entertainment and behind-the-scenes systems but where the physical driving experience is not a surprise with the latest download.

Obviously my Luddite view will encourage the wrath of the Tesla-woke; let the flaming begin.

*HAL: Hueristically programmed ALgorithmic computer - the nickname of the sentient supercomputer controlling the space vessel in Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: a Space Odyssey.

 

[RareEarth]

Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: a Space Odyssey.

"Open the pod bay doors HAL".

 

[_Redshift_]

“Almost all input is error. Car should do the right thing automatically."

Well-stated and certainly the paradigm which UI developers are targeting, with some success…for them.

For me, this is the overarching reason why my next vehicle will likely be another brand. In my Model 3 the screen replaces so much driver usability with external (from Tesla’s design team) controls. While very cool for the first year or so, current versions of HAL* have gotten more and more powerful with v11 taking major functional steps to deliver more automation while reducing driver inputs and less system status reporting, and doing so by obfuscating some status and making other inputs more cumbersome. V11 has demonstrated to me the huge value of, wait for it,…real buttons and knobs to provide driver functionality that cannot easily ever be changed during the life of the car. Buttons/knobs that can be operated wearing gloves, don’t need to be looked at to use, don’t move around the cabin, etc. I want a great electric vehicle, charging infrastructure, and automation where it makes sense to me such as entertainment and behind-the-scenes systems but where the physical driving experience is not a surprise with the latest download.

Obviously my Luddite view will encourage the wrath of the Tesla-woke; let the flaming begin.

*HAL: Hueristically programmed ALgorithmic computer - the nickname of the sentient supercomputer controlling the space vessel in Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: a Space Odyssey.

View attachment 759947

There is obviously no ergonomics expert Tesla could hire. They are very expensive and even Elon’s wealth could not hire such a person. Let us cut Tesla some slack, guys.

 

[SalisburySam]

There is obviously no ergonomics expert Tesla could hire. They are very expensive and even Elon’s wealth could not hire such a person. Let us cut Tesla some slack, guys.

Odd, and I never mentioned hiring an ergonomics expert but whatever. And completely disagree. “Ergonomics” is fitting a task to a person. The person doesn’t change, the task does. There are indeed ergonomics experts in the wild triggered in the early days by OSHA, working at many companies, and like any skill set fairly easily poached. Pretty sure Elon would not have to sell more shares to afford one, possibly two, or hundreds. What is missing here is adherence to what should be the Prime Directive: never, ever, do anything to make driving more difficult.

 

[brico84]

There is obviously no ergonomics expert Tesla could hire. They are very expensive and even Elon’s wealth could not hire such a person. Let us cut Tesla some slack, guys.

I remember reading an article last summer about Tesla teaming up (not hiring, but working with in some capacity) some "expert" UI guy, who himself owns a (now legacy) Model S with a portrait screen. He was supposed to provide Tesla will valuable input to rework the portrait UI. Maybe that is still happening and we won't see the change until it magically appears?

More likely Tesla abandoned the idea and is just considering portrait Tesla's as obsolete and focusing only on landscape displays and newer models.

 

[Vostok]

“Almost all input is error”.

Speak for yourself, Elon

 

[Vostok]

Most great engineers can't, it's rare to find someone who can master both disciplines. The brilliant engineers accept that premise and delegate the UI/UX decisions to those that are good at it.

It’s amazing that some people have great difficulty accepting they are not good at everything, and that actually, they really should defer to those who know more about a topic than they do.

”A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”

 

[Vostok]

Odd, and I never mentioned hiring an ergonomics expert but whatever. And completely disagree.

Did you not pick up the dry Aussie sarcasm?

 

[paulp]

Did you not pick up the dry Aussie sarcasm?

That entire convo is between americans. I can’t work out what point they are trying to make.

 

[SalisburySam]

Did you not pick up the dry Aussie sarcasm?

Apparently not, sorry. Subtlety has never been a strong suit as the better half will aggressively attest.

 

[Hurricane4911]

"Almost All Input is Error"

Nope.
This statement clearly reflects the one glaring shortcoming of Tesla...

No (pre development) Business Analysis.

They develop these interfaces in a vacuum. They do not interview drivers or ask them what they need or want. I've been there and done that. That's BA-101

Sorry Elon,
Good user interfaces do not happen by accident.
You got this wrong.