I wish the Model 3 had the new Model S steering wheel

[MorrisonHiker]

So instead of pushing on the center of the steering wheel, maybe I could push on the 13 o'clock position for the Horn. Or maybe I'll just leisurely scroll the scrolling wheel until the correct icon lights up then push on that scrolling wheel.

Sounds like too many steps just to become a whistleblower!

That horn is a wasted space when it could be the center pad like normal. Where is the AP control? On the stalk system its easy to transition into and out of AP.

Maybe the center of the steering wheel is still the "regular" horn and the horn button is a pedestrian horn, similar to what the Volt had? It would be much easier to use a small horn button when driving at slow speeds and wanting to alert pedestrians without blasting them with the regular horn.

 

[cdswm3]

Full lock puts you in reverse, just like a bumper car. Full lock again puts you in drive. Easy......

 

[M0del3At5paceX]

I understand the concept, but is that actually legal? Is the limiting factor the shape of the steering wheel, the size of the wheel, or something else?...

I have yet to see somebody copy/paste actual text from actual legislature that says its not legal. Just a bunch of vague references. Even that legal article (HG.org) that is referenced by the Shift.com article cites no actual specific legislature, code, whatever. Just general statements.

To your point about it being different... well... yeah. It is different. So is single pedal driving with regenerative braking and having a car that doesn't creep when it is in drive but you aren't pushing on the accelerator.

Tesla has never been a brand for traditionalists. That's why I find them so appealing.

 

[Let's Drive]

How to turn on turn signals, switch driving gears, turn on Autopilot and Autosteer?

Supposedly, the car will intuitively understand your intentions. I definitely want to try it and generally encourage new ideas, but I know there's a great chance there will be dozens of tricky situations that will leave people frustrated (just like the lack of rain sensors).

 

[dinonugget]

So the Model S refresh is getting the steering wheel yoke. There is also no stalk. You can control turning signal, lights, AP etc from the yoke.

I wish the Model 3 had this!

I can imagine a spouse who is not a hardcore video game player and car enthusiast getting into a massive accident because of the steering wheel.

This is like forcing someone to move from a mouse to a trackpad full time.

 

[GZDongles]

I have yet to see somebody copy/paste actual text from actual legislature that says its not legal. Just a bunch of vague references. Even that legal article (HG.org) that is referenced by the Shift.com article cites no actual specific legislature, code, whatever. Just general statements.

To your point about it being different... well... yeah. It is different. So is single pedal driving with regenerative braking and having a car that doesn't creep when it is in drive but you aren't pushing on the accelerator.

Tesla has never been a brand for traditionalists. That's why I find them so appealing.

I am all for being non traditional in return for actual improvement in performance, experience, or efficiency. Single pedal driving is a revelation, the Model 3 touchscreen and limited physical controls is efficient and allows for UI changes through software.

It's possible I'm just being a grumpy Luddite, but I just see limited benefit with a potential marketing and UI downside.

 

[Spacep0d]

I would love this. I love the look. There's no way the steering ratio is like a normal wheel because the form factor is at cross-purposes with 'normal' steering wheel behavior. There has to be some kind of variable sensitivity based on speed, just like power steering which people probably also disliked initially. ABS brakes. Same deal. Anything new is going to turn some people off, but I really love the look. I'd probably be okay with the functionality too, but I'm guessing there has to be tech which allows a steering yoke like this to work very well.

There's no reason a wheel has to require so many turns have a 1:1 ratio with the wheels at all times. Of course, we'd want it to be less sensitive at speed, more sensitive at low speeds, and modern vehicles already do this if I'm not mistaken.

 

[eisenb11]

I have yet to see somebody copy/paste actual text from actual legislature that says its not legal. Just a bunch of vague references. Even that legal article (HG.org) that is referenced by the Shift.com article cites no actual specific legislature, code, whatever. Just general statements.

To your point about it being different... well... yeah. It is different. So is single pedal driving with regenerative braking and having a car that doesn't creep when it is in drive but you aren't pushing on the accelerator.

Tesla has never been a brand for traditionalists. That's why I find them so appealing.

The hg.org article likely summarizes a bunch of stuff. Either way, it’s a pretty dangerous shape - I can see a lot of people grabbing air when an emergency situation comes up or accidentally losing grip on the wheel and not grabbing back in time. Looks cool, but makes more sense when FSD becomes the primary way to drive as it’s not good for humans.

But to give credit where credit is due...

Single pedal driving isn’t unique to Tesla as a general concept. People with manual transmissions have been using transmission braking for ages. Albeit, you can’t get to full stop, but you can get pretty close. I had 3 cars with dual clutch automatic transmissions which allow you to do this - barely used the brakes. Tesla made it better in that it took care of that gap from going very slow to fully stopped. Also, with the DCTs one hand is busy downshifting while the Tesla is hands free if you desire to let go of the wheel, which is neat.

I think it was the Prius that first had regenerative braking - Tesla took it a big step farther.

I’ve had 3 cars that don’t move until you press the accelerator. 2 of them had hold features to prevent you from rolling backwards or forwards on a hill. These were my 3 dual clutch cars. I’m not including my 1 fully manual car.

Not saying that Tesla doesn’t do smart stuff - just pointing out that not *everything* is revolutionary, many of these things are evolutionary.

 

[AdamVIP]

Wait is he indicating that the car will assume whether you want to go in forward or reverse? I figured they were just moving PRND to the screen as that would be fine but I wouldn't want my car guessing which direction I want to be in.

 

[AdamVIP]

Maybe the center of the steering wheel is still the "regular" horn and the horn button is a pedestrian horn, similar to what the Volt had? It would be much easier to use a small horn button when driving at slow speeds and wanting to alert pedestrians without blasting them with the regular horn.

That would be neat. I liked the Volt dual horn.

 

[diplomat33]

Wait is he indicating that the car will assume whether you want to go in forward or reverse? I figured they were just moving PRND to the screen as that would be fine but I wouldn't want my car guessing which direction I want to be in.

Elektrek is saying that there will be a manual touch control on the center console to go forward and reverse but that the car can do it automatically as well. Apparently, the new Model S will have an AI that can automatically go in reverse or forward based on what is around the car. So if you are in your garage, the car will automatically know to switch to reverse when you press the brake since it detects that the opening of the garage is behind the car.

 

[North75]

I

Don't like it.
I also do not like other details i see in the photos -- the Model 3 style electric door handles, lack of a glove box, and greater reliance on the screen for adjustments that are done today on Model S/X with steering wheel buttons or physical buttons on the seats and doors.
I did not hear the presentation. But if the photos are accurate, this is exactly what I feared....

I'm pretty sure it will have a glove box. I would expect it to be like Model 3 where you need to open via the touch screen. You can see the seam in the renders.

 

[Let's Drive]

Wait is he indicating that the car will assume whether you want to go in forward or reverse? I figured they were just moving PRND to the screen as that would be fine but I wouldn't want my car guessing which direction I want to be in.

Yep, that's exactly what he's saying-- it will assume, using certain cues. We'll see how well it works.

 

[JulienW]

Just push the accelerator and HOPE it guesses right.

 

[camalaio]

No, I never want this in Model 3. Less because of the wheel, more because of the lack of stalks and replacement with touch buttons.

Model 3 pushed the limits of what was acceptable to remove for basic physical driver controls. The touchscreen wiper controls are objectively not a good idea, but at least we had the physical single-wipe button. Barely sufficient, not ideal, but it was there and it worked.

With this wheel though? Come on. You know they thought about it because right is up and left is down, matching what you'd do with a stalk. But touch controls has been proven again and again to be a terrible idea for drivers. Also, honk button next to the cruise/AP button? That'll go well.

Tesla's in a really weird spot. They can't do full autonomy yet, so they try to give the illusion of that being the primary driving method by stripping away intuitive human driver controls. This wheel's control methods are not advancements - you don't forego common paradigm just to throw it away "next year" when the car can "drive itself". Why force your customers to learn something entirely new when they "shouldn't need to" use it soon anyways?

From the Electrek article, a quote from Tesla:

“The vehicle uses its Autopilot sensors to intelligently and automatically determine intended drive modes and select them. For example, if the front of Model S/X is facing a garage wall, it will detect this and automatically shift to Reverse once the driver presses the brake pedal. This eliminates one more step for the drivers of the world’s most intelligent production cars.”​

I just can't. There are so many cases where this would be frustrating and doing the wrong thing, not to mention it just sounds dangerous. Probably a lot of people treat the brake pedal as something safe to press that won't result in the car doing anything weird. Why break these paradigms? For what benefit?

Tesla. Make a driverless car, or make a driver's car. Not this.

 

[camalaio]

No, I never want this in Model 3. Less because of the wheel, more because of the lack of stalks and replacement with touch buttons.

Model 3 pushed the limits of what was acceptable to remove for basic physical driver controls. The touchscreen wiper controls are objectively not a good idea, but at least we had the physical single-wipe button. Barely sufficient, not ideal, but it was there and it worked.

With this wheel though? Come on. You know they thought about it because right is up and left is down, matching what you'd do with a stalk. But touch controls has been proven again and again to be a terrible idea for drivers. Also, honk button next to the cruise/AP button? That'll go well.

Tesla's in a really weird spot. They can't do full autonomy yet, so they try to give the illusion of that being the primary driving method by stripping away intuitive human driver controls. This wheel's control methods are not advancements - you don't forego common paradigm just to throw it away "next year" when the car can "drive itself". Why force your customers to learn something entirely new when they "shouldn't need to" use it soon anyways?

From the Electrek article, a quote from Tesla:

“The vehicle uses its Autopilot sensors to intelligently and automatically determine intended drive modes and select them. For example, if the front of Model S/X is facing a garage wall, it will detect this and automatically shift to Reverse once the driver presses the brake pedal. This eliminates one more step for the drivers of the world’s most intelligent production cars.”​

I just can't. There are so many cases where this would be frustrating and doing the wrong thing, not to mention it just sounds dangerous. Probably a lot of people treat the brake pedal as something safe to press that won't result in the car doing anything weird. Why break these paradigms? For what benefit?

Tesla. Make a driverless car, or make a driver's car. Not this.

I should probably add:

Yeah, maybe they're just doing this to drum up discussion. But at least for me, that has backfired. I trust Tesla less than ever before on making a car designed for humans, and in my mind they have made things very clear. I am not their intended customer, and they want me to spend my money on the traditional automakers with their new and growingly competent EV programs that still make sense for a human driver. Message received.

 

[XLR82XS]

Terrible. It's not a video game - give me a real steering wheel.

 

[cucubits]

Besides this drive select non-sense, what bothers me more is that they decided ditching the stalks and having touch buttons for indicators is a good idea. What were they thinking? "Sure, let's have the drivers keep taking their eyes off the road to find the spot on the half wheel where they need to touch to start signalling".

 

[Msjulie]

Add me to the no-thanks list Buttons are ok but no turn signal stalk, etc but top reason - I want a "normal" steering wheel. Flat bottom sport wheels are ok but shuffle steering with that thing is gonna be a tough one

 

[XLR82XS]

Like the latest screen update - seems like 20-somethings are on the design team as well as the software team.