Owners - Thoughts on the design of the screen?

[BlueWRXPride]

I remember when Elon first showed the original prototype of the M3 years ago, there was tons of speculation about the 15" screen, and how it must be a prototype because it was just sticking out of the dash and not integrated at all. As we now know, that was the final design and stuck around. Does anyone out there feel that it was a poor choice to not integrate it more cleanly in the dash? Or is the design pretty universally accepted? My wife has some pretty strong feelings against the way the screen just sticks out like that, and I wasn't sure if is more appealing to some in person than in pictures. I'm all for it, but I'm trying to win her over!

 

[Derek Kessler]

I think it works better in person. But then again, it never really bothered me in the first place.

 

[Az_Rael]

It does work well in person - they are refining the UI still, so it gets more useable as time goes on. Adding cruise functions to the scroll wheel was a big help. Windshield wiper controls are a bit wonky if you live somewhere with a lot of rain. Currently the NAV instructions are hard to see, but I am hopeful they will get moved to better placement in a future update.

I think the car would be very different if the screen was in the dash. Right now the dash is very low giving you great visibility. They would have to raise that up a LOT to integrate the screen and I think it would just end up worse. I reallly like the forward uncluttered view out of the 3.

However, I will note that one concern people raised after the reveal turned out to be true: that you could hit it in an accident. One unfortunate soul wrecked his 3 and the passenger ended up being cut by the glass on the screen when it shattered. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-crash-insight-60mph-collision/ Elon has stated this will be addressed, but we don’t know when any changes will be implemented.

 

[BlueWRXPride]

Yeah, I think the concern is more about the physical integration of the screen in the dash, rather than anything about the UI which can change with updates. Her concern isn't so much the lack of buttons, it's more of just the aesthetic of the screen sticking out of the dash like that.

 

[TheLocNar]

It does work well as-is. Function over form, and it really doesn’t look bad at all in my mind. One thing I may change: tilt it slightly towards the driver but have the passenger side not stick out any further. That would require it to be recessed just slightly compared to how it is now.

 

[Shock-On-T]

If you integrate the screen flush into the dash it's gotta be either lower (further from eye line) or the whole dash has to be higher (reduced forward visibility).
I think they made the right call, and to me it looks great (in pictures at least, none over here yet).

 

[VBruce]

I’ve had my TM3 for just over 2 months now. Screen placement has become natural. Expansive forward view really adds to perception of control. Looking forward to continued refinement of UI; especially moving Turn by turn Nav instructions closer to Driver or increase font size for better reading.

 

[ForeverFree]

Going back to driving our S over the weekend, I was struck by the fact that I could have my desired wheel position or visibility of my speed, but not both.

That is one of the great advantages of Model 3’s layout: Set the wheel wherever it is most comfortable and don’t worry about blocking view of the speedo.