Elon tweet re: lack of instrument cluster

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

small lcd screen on the steering wheel is entirely possible. Imagine the steering wheel's center is inset rather drastically, with a smaller lcd screen on it. Perhaps the steering column is mounted more horizontally than some cars so the viewing angle is closer to having a traditional cluster.

I hear the concerns about the need for an airbag to be in the steering wheel (I don't know whether that's the only viable place for an airbag or not), but my answer to that is - an lcd screen can be very very very thin and light. there is already plastic/rubber/other material that has to pop away for the airbag to deploy. Having an incredibly thin lcd screen there would not change that (I believe).

I was thinking about that. There's already wiring to the steering wheel, so why not consolidate there?

But it's just not spaceshippy enough. That'd either be a HUD or stuff in the dashboard. But, if they went dashboard, they had better be careful about the glare.

 

[malcolm]

But it's just not spaceshippy enough.

"Open the garage door please HAL"

There you go.

But the centre of the wheel will have to be screenless to accommodate the driver airbag.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

"Open the garage door please HAL"

There you go.

But the centre of the wheel will have to be screenless to accommodate the driver airbag.

The cover to the airbag doesn't hit
You in the face, it stays attached
to the wheel and moves out of the way, so could a screen. Although I don't feel they will do that.

 

[kevincwelch]

Ha ha guess you aren't aware Tesla has more deposits in Three days then BMW 3-Series sold in North America in a year. They "ARE" selling to the masses.

I'm aware of the number of deposits. I'm not aware that any of these have been purchased and delivered (i.e., "sold"). Are you?

I'm not saying the car isn't popular right now; it certainly looks great on the outside. The inside looks immature to me, and my biggest concern about the car is how it will eventually be perceived by the public even before it hits the ground. Around work, everyone knows I am a Tesla fan, and everyone has negative things to say about the console.

I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but the console is my concern. But, like I said, I'll wait and see.

 

[malcolm]

The cover to the airbag doesn't hit
You in the face, it stays attached
to the wheel and moves out of the way, so could a screen. Although I don't feel they will do that.

Yes I believe that the airbag cover is prescored/weakened in some way to split predictably.

 

[kevincwelch]

Could it be more like this:

I hope not!

 

[sillydriver]

One more thought ...

The small screen behind the wheel rotates with the wheel, but software counterrotates the displayed information so the digital speed is always upright regardless of wheel position. This isn't really necessary since people tend to look at their speed when going straight, but it would be a really cool gimmick with no added variable cost.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I'm aware of the number of deposits. I'm not aware that any of these have been purchased and delivered (i.e., "sold"). Are you?

I'm not saying the car isn't popular right now; it certainly looks great on the outside. The inside looks immature to me, and my biggest concern about the car is how it will eventually be perceived by the public even before it hits the ground. Around work, everyone knows I am a Tesla fan, and everyone has negative things to say about the console.

I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but the console is my concern. But, like I said, I'll wait and see.

Deposits aren't sales. But the number of deposits would have declined after the unveiling from 115k, instead more then doubled to 280k. People don't just give someone a $1000, then go oh I don't like the product, and not get their deposit back.

Everyone has personal opinions, but the interior isn't the only factor in puchasing a car.

Have a look at the Model S and X unveiling prototypes. Production cars look nothing alike but design cues are there.

 

[kevincwelch]

Deposits aren't sales. But the number of deposits would have declined after the unveiling from 115k, instead more then doubled to 280k. People don't just give someone a $1000, then go oh I don't like the product, and not get their deposit back.

Did Tesla announce how many reservations have been retracted?

Have a look at the Model S and X unveiling prototypes. Production cars look nothing alike but design cues are there.

Quite aware; I recall that 5 years ago when I reserved, and that's what I'm hoping for the Model 3 as well.

 

[Bimbels]

I'm aware of the number of deposits. I'm not aware that any of these have been purchased and delivered (i.e., "sold"). Are you?

I'm not saying the car isn't popular right now; it certainly looks great on the outside. The inside looks immature to me, and my biggest concern about the car is how it will eventually be perceived by the public even before it hits the ground. Around work, everyone knows I am a Tesla fan, and everyone has negative things to say about the console.

I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but the console is my concern. But, like I said, I'll wait and see.

The interior is not finished. I believe they purposefully held back and showed the interior they did on the prototype because there are some really amazing cool things in store - Elon's tweets yesterday indicate that there will be big changes to the console/dash/steering. All will make sense after Part 2 of the reveal...he said.

 

[sandpiper]

Interesting tweet from Musk: "Wait until you see the real steering controls and system for the 3. It feels like a spaceship." I imagine that this means a very fancy HUD, not just improved autonomous driving.

Update: or maybe not...now Musk says that the current steering wheel is not the real steering "system", so maybe no conventional wheel in the final car?

That's what tweaked me. Maybe no steering wheel at all; maybe a right hand yoke/joystick? I don't know the legalities around that; I thought you need a mechanism to permit steering even in the event of electrical failure.

 

[Chrisuk83]

Tesla will not use an open top steering wheel. Anyone who has driven with one(including me) knows they are very dangerous

 

[gfb107]

There's been a number of vehicles without an instrument cluster directly in front of the driver. Some have already been posted above.

Above is the instrument cluster of the 2004 Nissan Quest.

 

[Skotty]

A HUD is a great idea for the 3, really. I don't think it costs much to project a picture onto the glass. If it's a high cost option for some cars, it's probably because of perceived value, not actual cost; it probably has a huge profit margin. It will probably be something you can turn on and off. If you are happy with minimalist center display, leave the HUD off. If you want the driver side instrument cluster, turn it on. It could be brilliant.

The funky steering wheel designs I don't think we will see. It might be slightly flattened on the top and bottom, but it can't be completely broken at any point or be overly radical, as it has to actually function appropriately as a steering wheel when you are actually steering around corners. Anything more than a 45 degree rotation, and some of the funky steering wheel designs break down in functionality.

You could have something that is totally different from a steering wheel, but I think that is too radical for the 3.

 

[CyberKnife]

It would be cool to have HUD, not sure how practical it would be in the case of direct sun glare or facing some idiots high beams. I would think these situations you can't see your HUD display?

It would be really fantastic if model 3 is designed for full autonomous that the car can take over the drive seamlessly. However, I don't think in under 2 years of time Tesla's able to work out all R&D to make it a full autonomous car and get it accepted by governments of all the country the 3 is sold to. With the 3 must be on time and budget conscious I doubt lack of driver dash is for full autonomous.

I have a hunch that the 3 may have a dash kind of like the Prius dashboard display seen in below picture and I could sort of relate it to elon's comment about spaceship like display. However I am not sure if this is less or more expensive than a hud display on windshield. After all, it may well be that there will be a secondary driver dash display just like s & x but our discussions are all Tesla's plans for free marketing...

 

[AudubonB]

Personally, can't see the need for a HUD at all...

More truthfully, you can't see anything at all....ya got a hood in the way!

And anyway, what's someone from London doing with a LHD Morris?

 

[sandpiper]

Model3 dashboard prototype:

View attachment 170623

Uh huh... That leans a bit toward my thought that there may be no steering wheel at all... just a joystick like device. That would certainly cut costs. And there's no reason that it can't work - as long as the safety/legislative issues are resolved. Pilots control highly responsive jet aircraft with joysticks every single day.

But... the risk is that you're going to alienate some of the more traditionalist potential buyers.

 

[ummgood]

I personally wouldn't buy the car if it didn't have a steering wheel. I love to drive and I am not ready to give that up just yet... I do want auto pilot for my commute and long trips but sometimes I want to carve up a road in manual old fashioned driving style. I bet I am not the same. Plus if you get rid of most of the driving of the car what's the point for having fast acceleration if you can't really control it?

Another thought I had was something similar to an HUD but it actually projects onto the dash. They could use a reflective coating of some sort to make it work well. Similar to projectors with special screens. It would probably work with polarized glasses AND wouldn't be affected by exterior lighting conditions.

 

[sandpiper]

I personally wouldn't buy the car if it didn't have a steering wheel. I love to drive and I am not ready to give that up just yet... I do want auto pilot for my commute and long trips but sometimes I want to carve up a road in manual old fashioned driving style. I bet I am not the same. Plus if you get rid of most of the driving of the car what's the point for having fast acceleration if you can't really control it?

Another thought I had was something similar to an HUD but it actually projects onto the dash. They could use a reflective coating of some sort to make it work well. Similar to projectors with special screens. It would probably work with polarized glasses AND wouldn't be affected by exterior lighting conditions.

A joystick does not imply only autopilot. Joysticks can be highly responsive and very precise. I remember 30 years ago, some discussions that the steering wheel was likely to go away in favour of a joystick like device. We may actually be arriving at that point.

 

[Skotty]

Think of video games. Does anyone like using a joystick to control the cars in video games? Not really. I sure don't want to drive a car with a joystick. I don't see a joystick ever getting past concept car phase.