Plaid Safety

[txturbo]

I have been driving the new plaid for about 2 months now and for the first time, I took it on a road trip. Austin to Dallas and back.

The car is comfortable and super quiet. Its range compared to our old P90D and P100D model X is nice. Its turbine-like acceleration is addictive.

I stopped in Waco on the way back, and the car charged up from around 60 miles left to 300 in about 30 min. It was actually ready to continue to my destination in about 15.

However....

Having put many miles on the old model s and x, there are a few things that I have come to realize that makes the car, IMHO, less safe.

1. The display and UI. On the old model attempting to change something on the screen was more straightforward due to the fixed and predictable position of the controls. The new UI has moving and swipeable things, which is fine on a tablet but takes your eyes off of the road in order to focus on what you are touching. Items on the screen that you would generally need to interact with are not strategically positioned to facilitate good ergonomics and minimum eye contact while the car is in motion. If you are in heavy traffic and you want to change something you need to be very careful. Sure, you can put the car in autopilot mode, but you should not have to. It's like the UI was created to be more of an entertainment system, but it's #1 priority should be for the driver to manage the car as easily as possible.

The old car had items that you would frequently use available to you in the main display. For example, a text message was displayed and could be responded to using the scroll wheel or a call answered. Nothing gets displayed in the instrument cluster display on the new UI, and response requires interaction with the touch screen in a position that has not been driver optimized.

2. The yoke. Much has been written about the yoke. Something that has not been discussed is the offset of the center of the yoke from the steering column. Couple this with a rectangular shape and you have a situation where depending on where you grab the yoke you get a different response, sort of an amplification effect. It's not confidence-inspiring at all. The best analogy I can come up with is taking the handlebars on a 10-speed bike and flipping them up and back.

It has been said that one of the purposes of the yoke was to allow a better view of the instrument cluster. I never had a problem seeing the old one, but the yoke now blocks the view of the touch screen lower-left corner. So now I not only need to take my eyes off of the road but I need to move my head to see part of the screen.

The biggest issue, however, is the touch controls on the yoke. Tesla, if you are listening, please change this. I will happily pay for a better setup.

If you insist on having capacitive touch buttons, then take it all the way and make them into tiny screens that I can configure to my liking. If not then please, put the turn signals on the corresponding side of the yoke. Left side to turn left and right side to turn right. Keep them away from the scroll wheels. Put the horn in the center below the airbag. Would you please bring back the ability to answer the phone or text to the scroll wheels? Make the scroll wheel so you can push it to the left or right with ease, maybe a bit of rubber in the center instead of a slick knurled ball.

 

[Dan_Foster]

The stalkless yoke — in particular that asinine wandering horn button, primary controls you can’t feel, and direction selection on screen combine to make a deal breaker. No matter how much Musk wants his cars to be video games or fighter planes the yoke is just stupid. No one needed a better view of the center screen. The NHTSA is investigating 11 crashes during which Tesla drivers didn’t notice stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Tesla’s own instructions are to pay attention at all times since ‘…autopilot may do the worst thing at the worst time.’ How the hell will a better view of the ‘Mind of Car’ graphics help?

World class cars need world class, thoroughly tested ergonomics—most especially for primary controls; your criticism of secondary control ergonomics are on point as well—not gimmicky controls that fly in the face of driving conventions.

I’m a shareholder, a Tesla owner, and a big-time Tesla advocate with many referrals both direct an indirect to my name which is why it’s so painful to see this new control paradigm ruin the experience of what could have been the perfect car. Like one out of tune violin in a section of perfect players, the stalkless yoke is a blight on the Model S, Model X, and mostly likely soon—the whole fleet.

 

[URBAN LEGEND]

I would like a normal turn signal stalk and if they want leave the ones on the yoke.
I would also like a custom screen where I can drag icons and things I normally use.

 

[Thepugster]

Try moving the window you need full view of to the right side of the screen.

 

[URBAN LEGEND]

Try moving the window you need full view of to the right side of the screen.

I will in about 1 hr. Thanks.

 

[FFCars]

I wonder how many people will be cancelling or just not ordering over the yoke and lack of normal controls? I’m on the fence with my order. I just don’t need something complicated. KISS

 

[URBAN LEGEND]

1 WOT run and you’ll take it as it. This car is ridiculously fast. If I had to order again then I would. This car is full of win.

 

[glide]

1 WOT run and you’ll take it as it. This car is ridiculously fast. If I had to order again then I would. This car is full of win.

Going fast in a straight line gets old quickly.

Is this a race car or a daily driver? It cannot be both.

 

[WhiteWi]

Going fast in a straight line gets old quickly.

Is this a race car or a daily driver? It cannot be both.

Going quick in the straight line isn’t exactly race car. You probably meant drag car. And it doesn’t get old to smoke every one from the red light and stay away from the pack of the cars.

 

[linux-works]

put this kind of speed on a porsche body with porsche suspension and you mght have something.

the asking price is just obscene, imho. its a fast car but its still on the same build quality as the other teslas, and that's not a complement.

the yoke and lack of stalks, plus an unstable ui that you have to look it - all failures. UI team should be ashamed (unless they wanted something else and were overridden by elon again. no way to know, either).

sensible product manager would have given options for both so that even those that tried the new style could always go back to the old via a service center visit. why they didn't do that, just blows my mind (100% product management fail)

 

[cytranic]

Going fast in a straight line gets old quickly.

Is this a race car or a daily driver? It cannot be both.

Its a family luxury sedan that will do a 1/4 mile in 9.2, blow past almost all production cars on popular tracks with your kids in the back seat. Its not a racecar, but it can beat one.

 

[glide]

Its a family luxury sedan that will do a 1/4 mile in 9.2, blow past almost all production cars on popular tracks with your kids in the back seat. Its not a racecar, but it can beat one.

I agree. But that party trick gets old fast. Probably .01% of owners buy this as a dedicated track car.

It’s primary purpose, and target audience, is as a family sedan. I don’t know any other family sedan that is designed to make it as difficult as possible to press the horn and turn signals.

They need to pick a lane with regards to design cues.

 

[WhiteWi]

I agree. But that party trick gets old fast. Probably .01% of owners buy this as a dedicated track car.

It’s primary purpose, and target audience, is as a family sedan. I don’t know any other family sedan that is designed to make it as difficult as possible to press the horn and turn signals.

They need to pick a lane with regards to design cues.

Oh god, have you ever driven motorcycle. It’s not that difficult to get used to new controls.
if it’s not going to work out for them I am sure they will offer options down the road. Me personally want some yoke action in my Cybertruck!

 

[URBAN LEGEND]

Going fast in a straight line gets old quickly.

Is this a race car or a daily driver? It cannot be both.

Hasn’t gotten old in over 2 decades for me. You are right thought. It’s a daily driver that does 9.2 in the quarter.

 

[Dan_Foster]

I ride a motorcycle. I can feel the turn signals and the horn through thick gloves; they move when pressed; they’re never upside down nor backwards because motorcycle forks barely turn compared with to car’s wheel. So no: the haptic controls and the dangerous wandering horn button are simply ergonomic disasters unbecoming of an expensive, otherwise perfect car. Seriously, I can’t even fathom the profound stupidity of moving the horn off the center hub, especially since a lighting-fast tap prevents someone backing into me in a parking lot at least twice a month, and always when my wheel is turned. The likelihood of finding that tiny button in time to prevent a fender bender is slim to none. Yes, you can cover the whole spoke to sound the horn, but at many steering angles, that’s nearly impossible and the yoke juggle for tight turns makes it even less likely. Seriously, the new horn ‘button’ is amazingly awful—a textbook example of changing something that should have never changed, ever. All input is not error.

Onscreen direction selection is an order of magnitude slower than the ‘shift’ stalk in my 2015 which was the king of quick multipoint turns and low speed maneuvering. And since a Model S has the turning radius of school bus, three point turns become five point and so on, but yeah, when I pulled out of my driveway, auto ‘shift’ saved me one stalk click. Good trade off…NOT!

I’m a certifiable Tesla fanatic but this takes the grin off. Since I do not expect Tesla to walk this back, I won’t order a new S until I see a good aftermarket solution.

 

[ICUDoc]

No one needed a better view of the center screen

I definitely did, I can't adjust the wheel to a place where I can see the whole screen. And there are plenty like me.
I am not saying the yoke is a solution, just saying that there is a real problem to be solved.
I guess ideally one wouldn't replace one problem with another - I don't know, Model S Plaid won't be here for 18 months or so...

 

[WhiteWi]

I ride a motorcycle. I can feel the turn signals and the horn through thick gloves; they move when pressed; they’re never upside down nor backwards because motorcycle forks barely turn compared with to car’s wheel. So no: the haptic controls and the dangerous wandering horn button are simply ergonomic disasters unbecoming of an expensive, otherwise perfect car. Seriously, I can’t even fathom the profound stupidity of moving the horn off the center hub, especially since a lighting-fast tap prevents someone backing into me in a parking lot at least twice a month, and always when my wheel is turned. The likelihood of finding that tiny button in time to prevent a fender bender is slim to none. Yes, you can cover the whole spoke to sound the horn, but at many steering angles, that’s nearly impossible and the yoke juggle for tight turns makes it even less likely. Seriously, the new horn ‘button’ is amazingly awful—a textbook example of changing something that should have never changed, ever. All input is not error.

Onscreen direction selection is an order of magnitude slower than the ‘shift’ stalk in my 2015 which was the king of quick multipoint turns and low speed maneuvering. And since a Model S has the turning radius of school bus, three point turns become five point and so on, but yeah, when I pulled out of my driveway, auto ‘shift’ saved me one stalk click. Good trade off…NOT!

I’m a certifiable Tesla fanatic but this takes the grin off. Since I do not expect Tesla to walk this back, I won’t order a new S until I see a good aftermarket solution.

I never use horn, if you do it daily maybe you need to chill eh mate?

 

[Dan_Foster]

I wrote “twice a month” to prevent someone backing into me in parking lots. Around here they don’t look, they just slam into reverse and back out. I’ll keep doing what I need to do.

 

[WhiteWi]

I wrote “twice a month” to prevent someone backing into me in parking lots. Around here they don’t look, they just slam into reverse and back out. I’ll keep doing what I need to do.

Sorry, missed you are in NY. Top 100 of crazy drivers on earth.

 

[nsxpowered]

Honestly I do miss the stalk. If I needed to use the wipers, turn signal, shift the transmission; it could've been done in 1-2 seconds. Now everything is just plain more difficult. The stalks didn't block the view of the screen either. Also the horn button is a big mistake. It should be somewhere familiar like maybe on the open spot under the airbag? It would be nice if the current horn button could be more like a programmed horn from the fart mode for pedestrians or bicyclists. I think the U/I is very bad. No zooming on the map? Ferrari and Lamborghini turn signals are better than the Plaid.