Elon says no Central Speedometer

[kablammyman]

If the base range of Model 3 is 215+ miles which is nearly double your RAV 4 EV the vast majority of people will not care about range or have range anxiety on a daily basis.

I worry about range in my Prius but that's because I'm lazy and don't want to go out of my way to a gas station until it's nearly driving on fumes. With an EV such as a Tesla, as long as I charged it every night, I think I'd care about range maybe a handful of times a year when I travel. Even then, there's always a supercharger on every major highway out of my city.


Why would you need autopilot graphics if you only had FSD (and it actually worked)? I really don't believe EAP is going to be offered on the Model 3.

as i said in my original post:

Yes the model 3 will have more range, but the point is, you need to monitor and adjust your speed to maximize your range, no matter what EV you are driving.

so even if 90% of the time people wont have to worry about range, that 10% of the time will be a bitch. It only takes one time running our of juice for it to be a big concern.

 

[JeffK]

as i said in my original post:

That's my point though... on a daily basis you can drive it hard and not worry, at all....

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Why would you need autopilot graphics if you only had FSD (and it actually worked)? I really don't believe EAP is going to be offered on the Model 3.

I would need Autopilot graphics to cover for me when I am driving myself. Where to display all the warnings etc...

Besides, FSD is still long ways off.

Plus, the instrument cluster is home to all sorts of useful info like radio stations, battery status, navigation directions, clock...

I already have found it annoying how since 6.2 Tesla has moved a lot of stuff away from the instrument cluster screen. A lot of very useful stuff becomes harder to see...

 

[kablammyman]

That's my point though... on a daily basis you can drive it hard and not worry, at all....

What abut those who dont have the ability to charge every night, like Apartment or condo dwellers? Also, people who dont have a level 2 charger (level 1 takes years to charge a battery, lol so people wont be able to charge every night) And what about those of us who just like to maximize our mileage\range, even if we dont need to? Or, what uf we need to make sure we can get to the next super charger? There are plenty of circumstance where knowing your speed (and range) will be very important, therefore, having to look away from the road to see such info is not a good idea.

 

[dhanson865]

You need more friends.

Some of us do actually still get incoming calls...and want to answer them.

Whatever happened to using Bluetooth pairing to answer the phone with the car? Works fine on my Leaf, does the Tesla not support that? Do we expect the Model 3 to not do Bluetooth pairing?

As to friends it'd be a rare case when they called me instead of text messaging or one of the many chat apps and those don't expect an immediate answer.

 

[dhanson865]

Ok. Let me be the first to predict and go on the record with this prediction. The steering wheel will have a display that will show all sorts of things like MPH, etc. look at what Apple just did with the MacBook Pro and the keyboards.

Some kind of hidden display that isn't visible when it is off, but shows the numbers when on could be interesting but is it near enough to the line of site for looking at the road and how would you deal with turning the wheel (numbers being sideways or upside down). I suppose with accelerometer/position tracking the display could keep the text top center as the wheel rotated. It would be novel.

I'm not seeing that as a real option though, can't be it.

 

[JeffK]

What abut those who dont have the ability to charge every night, like Apartment or condo dwellers? Also, people who dont have a level 2 charger (level 1 takes years to charge a battery, lol so people wont be able to charge every night) And what about those of us who just like to maximize our mileage\range, even if we dont need to? Or, what uf we need to make sure we can get to the next super charger? There are plenty of circumstance where knowing your speed (and range) will be very important, therefore, having to look away from the road to see such info is not a good idea.

I believe these people will be in the minority and should really give charging a thought before purchase. Hopefully those people lobby their places of employment and property owners for the ability to put in charging stations.

I wouldn't suggest Tesla design a car just for hypermilers. This is a mass market car targeted to a wide audience. Your eyes are better kept on the road.

 

[stopcrazypp]

What abut those who dont have the ability to charge every night, like Apartment or condo dwellers? Also, people who dont have a level 2 charger (level 1 takes years to charge a battery, lol so people wont be able to charge every night) And what about those of us who just like to maximize our mileage\range, even if we dont need to? Or, what uf we need to make sure we can get to the next super charger? There are plenty of circumstance where knowing your speed (and range) will be very important, therefore, having to look away from the road to see such info is not a good idea.

I believe these people will be in the minority and should really give charging a thought before purchase. Hopefully those people lobby their places of employment and property owners for the ability to put in charging stations.

I wouldn't suggest Tesla design a car just for hypermilers. This is a mass market car targeted to a wide audience. Your eyes are better kept on the road.

Why are you two talking as if the speed will not be visible in the Model 3? It will be visible on the top left corner of the center screen in roughly the same position as it is in a Prius V (although perhaps a bit closer to driver on the Z axis). It might take some getting used to, but if the screen is positioned right, it shouldn't be much of a deal (won't even require head movement).

 

[ecarfan]

I really think this episode is one of Elons' rare mistakes. Not the lack of a HUD, but the tease about "spaceship like controls"

And you came to that conclusion without driving a production Model 3.

drive an ev right now (2013 Toyota rav4 ev) and I'm CONSTANTLY looking at the gauge cluster. Why? Not only because of my speed for safety and avoiding tickets, but because MY SPEED DIRECTLY EFFECTS MY RANGE!

You drive an EV with a very limited range so I can understand your concern about your speed effecting your range.

I have been driving only Teslas for over 2 1/2 years now. I rarely think about my range. When I go on a long trip the car nav shows me where my charging stops will be in most cases. Sometimes I have to plan ahead.

The majority of time while driving highways I use cruise control, and when that is active I don't look at the speed, I know what I set it at. If I am not on cruise control I do check my speed occasionally.

 

[Krugerrand]

Here's my biggest question: Is this a design decision based on a thoughtful process that concluded that the elegance and simplicity gained by not having a cluster behind the wheel outweighed the convenience of having that information right in front of you? Or is it crippleware to try to push people towards the S or the X?

Of course it's not to push people towards the S or the X. Of course, NOT! Tesla is about getting every single person into an EV to save the planet and mankind. The only way to do that is to make EVs that are compelling; affordable, attractive, low maintenance, killer performance etc., etc...

 

[Ken7]

Whatever happened to using Bluetooth pairing to answer the phone with the car? Works fine on my Leaf, does the Tesla not support that? Do we expect the Model 3 to not do Bluetooth pairing?

As to friends it'd be a rare case when they called me instead of text messaging or one of the many chat apps and those don't expect an immediate answer.

I'm old fashioned and find voice communication to be far faster & more efficient than texting. I text, but much prefer actually speaking with others. I know, I'm weird.

 

[Krugerrand]

There are times I get the impression, reading some posts, that if the single center display were placed in the rear seat, some would say "How do you know that's not a good spot if you haven't tried it there before. Just swivel your head 180 degrees".

Strawman, therefore irrelevant.

 

[Krugerrand]

I'm old fashioned and find voice communication to be far faster & more efficient than texting. I text, but much prefer actually speaking with others. I know, I'm weird.

I prefer talking to people as well simply because it puts them on the spot - you get less bs, lying, evasion, etc...

 

[BluestarE3]

There are times I get the impression, reading some posts, that if the single center display were placed in the rear seat, some would say "How do you know that's not a good spot if you haven't tried it there before. Just swivel your head 180 degrees".

Here ya go!

 

[LectrikPower]

When did you drive one?

Or, are you one of those people who reviews books by how the cover looks?

I need to remind myself that the GPS is also in the dash of my Tesla since I find it easier to watch the one on the centre screen. Before owning a Tesla, I would never had thought that to be the case. Perhaps the speedometer is different, but until I drive one, I won't know, and certainly could not say "I really don't like it."

My parents have a Prius. I've driven it many times. So no, not judging a book by its cover. I don't like the asthetecs either.

Regardless I am willing to live with it.

 

[PRSIST]

Elon and Tesla will come out with an exceptional Model 3 !!! They have to. I couldn't fathom 300,000+ cancellations at $1,000 a pop. I have had my moments during all of this but I am very confident that Tesla will do it right.

 

[Xevex]

Elon and Tesla will come out with an exceptional Model 3 !!! They have to. I couldn't fathom 300,000+ cancellations at $1,000 a pop. I have had my moments during all of this but I am very confident that Tesla will do it right.

I sincerely hope so.

 

[McRat]

*grabs some double sided velcro* opens "dashboard" app on iphone.

BAM! speedometer. problem solved. crisis averted.

This is not actually a bad idea. A cellphone holder and app is cheaper than a cluster, and is completely user configurable. And? It can double as a ...

phone.

 

[alseTrick]

This is exactly the same reaction my wife and I get when we suggest to people that they switch to a vegan diet.

Not taking a position one way or the other on veganism. But how do you ensure adequate b12 intake?

 

[alseTrick]

I just got that response on that thread, Ah well I guess it won't work out. I've thanked the guys on the Model S thread for their input.

Have a cut out for the speed. Ask how well they can gauge their kWh consumption, autopilot tracking, remaining battery, etc instead.