So you think that the Model S central screen should not exist also? Or that autopilot should be removed too since no one was familiar with what AP1 proved to be capable of?
Why make things familiar just for the sake of being the same and stop innovating? Why not make them better instead of familiar?
A typical car has to me many unnecessary buttons and information available all the time that is completely useless and could be hidden in a menu, and that seems to be is a problem Model 3 is going to address.
No, I don't personally think the big screen in Model S was mistake, nor do I think Autopilot was.
Look, I get that some of these things are judgement calls - and most are opinions. The big screen in Model S works and offers clear benefits, without sacrificing too much. It could have been controversial, but Tesla retained the instrument cluster and sufficient steering wheel controls, which makes all the difference in that context. I never thought it to be too controversial beforehand, never.
There are still annoyances such as adjusting some things while driving, can't do it without looking, but mostly it works. (As for Autopilot, there's a thread for that: Did Tesla lose focus by making the Model 3 an autonomous car instead of a great EV?)
But removal of the instrument cluster completely for the sake of cost-cutting, that is definitely not achieving the same level of ergonomics (that much is obvious already) nor is it a design-first decision. It will seem odd and it will be controversial amongst customers. And that is just one odd/controversial thing that Tesla could do without.
The trunk well, I haven't seen in person, but it does not seem that small to me compared to other Sedans. But yes it could be better if it was more like an hatch.
Yeah, so the point I am making is not that making a sedan is a bad idea necessarily. My point is: Tesla is not actually making a sedan, just like with Model S they may call it that, but they are pretty much making a hatchback (at least the prototype was a hatchback) where the hatch would normally be a great feature, but was compromised massively due to the desire to have an all-glass roof wrapping around it. So instead there remains a sort of stub of a hatch, assuming final version is much like the prototype.
So a questionable design/wow effect decision compromising usability massively. I get it that rear headroom has been rationalized as part of it, but I am not buying that some other solution would not have been found... Perhaps in the U.S. this will not be that big of a deal, but in Europe that trunk will be a disappointment - unless they fixed the question by making it a real hatchback. A big part of why Model S is such a relative hit is the massive trunk (and overall such a balanced design) and the big hatch is a big part of that appeal.
Tesla wanted a big, bold glass roof. Tesla wanted a big, big front screen. And sacrificed both the trunk and the instrument cluster usability for this goal and invited controversy that is, in my view, quite possibly very unnecessary. That is the pondering I am offering...
The big controversial thing they are already selling is the EV underneath, that will take some getting used to. Don't add more oddities...
