Traditional P for Park D for Drive N for Neutral and R for Reverse doesn't really fully apply or best describe EV actions as in Teslas. I thought the UI for human driving could use a language touch up and bring things into this century!
Here's the idea:
The indicator sets an expectation for what will happen when pedals are pressed.
E replaces P. "E is for Exit / Entry or Emergency". E means the car is ready to exit / enter. Or Emergency brake button was pressed. Whenever the rear calipers have clamped down, show E. You can release pedals and nothing surprising happens. Thrust pedal does nothing in E. Brake pedal may be applied for even more force on un/clamped wheels, if available. I guess the word "Park" is OK too, it's just a little dated (there's no parking pawl gear in the car) so it's kind of quaint... a park is a nice green place to visit.
F replaces D. "F is for Forward". It's more descriptive than "Drive" which could be taken for driving in either direction whereas F means you'll next be going Forward when thrust pedal is applied, there's no mistaking that.
N is still Neutral. As we know it. Thrust pedal does nothing, but brake pedal can be applied to stop car from rolling, as is usual for any N situation. (It's too soon to call this what it should be R for "Rolling".)
B replaces R. "B is for Backwards". Pressing thrust means you'll shoot backwards. The word "reverse" is a bad choice because it's relative to what's going on e.g. reversing your backward direction means you'll be going forward. Confusing huh? But Backward is absolute and a sure thing about what happens when thrust is applied.
One change of action I'd like to see even while Tesla stays fixated on PDNR... is the display should change from P to N if the car is put into tow / transport mode (Emergency brake OFF) and stays in N so long as the mode is engaged and emergency brake is not re-applied. I think the car keeps on displaying P in tow mode today (E in the future
)
Here's the idea:
The indicator sets an expectation for what will happen when pedals are pressed.
E replaces P. "E is for Exit / Entry or Emergency". E means the car is ready to exit / enter. Or Emergency brake button was pressed. Whenever the rear calipers have clamped down, show E. You can release pedals and nothing surprising happens. Thrust pedal does nothing in E. Brake pedal may be applied for even more force on un/clamped wheels, if available. I guess the word "Park" is OK too, it's just a little dated (there's no parking pawl gear in the car) so it's kind of quaint... a park is a nice green place to visit.
F replaces D. "F is for Forward". It's more descriptive than "Drive" which could be taken for driving in either direction whereas F means you'll next be going Forward when thrust pedal is applied, there's no mistaking that.
N is still Neutral. As we know it. Thrust pedal does nothing, but brake pedal can be applied to stop car from rolling, as is usual for any N situation. (It's too soon to call this what it should be R for "Rolling".)
B replaces R. "B is for Backwards". Pressing thrust means you'll shoot backwards. The word "reverse" is a bad choice because it's relative to what's going on e.g. reversing your backward direction means you'll be going forward. Confusing huh? But Backward is absolute and a sure thing about what happens when thrust is applied.
One change of action I'd like to see even while Tesla stays fixated on PDNR... is the display should change from P to N if the car is put into tow / transport mode (Emergency brake OFF) and stays in N so long as the mode is engaged and emergency brake is not re-applied. I think the car keeps on displaying P in tow mode today (E in the future
)
