At least in the black test car there is something going on with the steering column just behind the wheel. It looks different than the other pics that people have posted:
If you look at the pic I posted above you can see that the screen is well behind the steering wheel. It look quite a bit further back than the prototypes shown last year.
Elon :Felix, we need an amazing, spaceship like steering wheel. I has to be truly amazing since we're not putting a HUD in. Thoughts? Felix : Well...I'll make it round with a fat grip. Elon: SHUTUPANDTAKEMYMONEY!!!
I don't think so. It looks more like it is moved forward a bit, and maybe a bit up? Better for the space of the legs for driver and front-passenger, and maybe better to read the "IC" part, but longer distance to use the touch screen...
I think it looks more recessed toward the windshield, which makes it harder to reach, but should better address the concerns from others about the speedometer being too close to driver and having to refocus. Of course this is only judging using the steering wheel as a reference (the prototype screen was almost parallel with wheel face, this one is significantly recessed). It could be possible the driver used the telescoping adjustment on the steering wheel.
Whats with the seam on the steering wheel. It's visible on several of the pictures. Got it - at cruising speed on motorways when you only need < 90 degrees steering in each direction, the top part of the steering wheel folds back, and has a display on the underside with autopilot info. Totally. Not really.
The 3 is really cab forward. Very little of the car extends beyond the wheels (at either end) compared to S or X.
If you go to this thread, I theorize there is cover missing over the column for a "pod" of some sort. Is this the speedo on the Model 3?
Interesting thing I notice as well is the back glass is tinted just like the X windshield. So if you took the X windshield and flipped it around to the back, that's what it would be like. You can see the maroon/gold tint when the light hits it certain angles. The lower part of the back window is clear.
That is true, and probably the reason many "A friend of mine saw a Model 3" posts were created, because if you are not used to seeing one you would think the Model X is a Model 3.
I haven't found a prototype photo taken from the same angle for comparison, but this Motor Trend photo-shoot picture taken through the glass roof seems to show the prototype's display to be mounted well behind the steering wheel (from the driver's perspective) as well: However, from this perspective, it's difficult to determine if the offset between the display and steering wheel has changed any or not. If it has, it would have been minor. Yes, compared to the through-the-roof photo above of the silver prototype, there's definitely something going on with the steering column on the new test car. Looks like the plastic shroud may have been removed and the column is being worked on. Maybe Félix Godard is doing something with the steering controls (i.e., "spaceship controls") after all?
That is my theory as well. Since he did the Mission E interior, which coincidentally had a pod-type thing above the column, I think this is what we will see in the finished product. Depending on semantics, it could technically not be considered a display to make Elon's tweets make sense. And would show necessary info that everyone has been kicking and screaming about not having. That's my theory anyway. But I'm 0-1 as I was in the HUD camp
It's against the dash - same as in the prototype. The steering wheel may be adjustable and moved forward.
I've figured out why there is that crease just ahead of the frunk...the space underneath houses the force-field generator which prevents photos being taken with full frontal clean views of the nose. It works incredibly well.