Tell me this isn't the final steering wheel

[AnxietyRanger]

Yes now tell us where we can mount our cell phone on the dash? No front face vents to clip to, the Center screen is in the way for a dash mount. Only thing left I'm seeing is mounting the cell phone from the windshield similar to a radar detector mount but I'm not sure if that's a good place for it or if the USB charging cord will be routable in any reasonable way if you do.

A cell phone holder with a long neck that attaches to the big screen's base would seem like an aftermarket opportunity. Maybe one that reaches over the dash/steering wheel for a speedo view...

 

[JRP3]

Yes now tell us where we can mount our cell phone on the dash?

Maybe you just pair your phone to the car and operate it through the main display, and/or voice commands?

 

[EV-lutioin]

I'm 99% confident that this will be the final steering wheel.

It's too late in the game to be validating candidate steering wheel prototypes. And before people jump on me about Elon's "spaceship" comment, I remind everyone that Elon also called the Model X 2nd row seats "sculptural beauty" (a serious wtf in terms of form over folding function).

Gotta admit they look pretty cool.

 

[EV-lutioin]

is this not a bright T logo? how much more dressed up do you expect a steering wheel to be with fluff? I'd rather It feels right than has extra chrome trim
View attachment 228775

It is a huge improvement over this one...

 

[Petra]

The promise that the controls in the prototype were not the final version

Promise kept, the steering wheel and associated controls in the RC cars is different from last year's Alpha cars. It was mentioned during the ridealongs last year that the bulk of the interior (clean dash, lack of traditional vents, floating screen, etc.) was close to final.

and that the trunk access would be reworked.

The final trunk opening hasn't been revealed yet... and it's not like the car was going to magically turn into a liftback.

Also that the car would be the best car I could buy for the money.

Hard to make this call without final specs and pricing, isn't it? It also depends on what you value.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

And continuing with my thought about the weird air vents, anyone else notice that Tesla's cars are morphing into weird mobiles?

One of the very common compliments Tesla got when the Model S was unveiled was how ordinary the car was. Sure it had gorgeous lines, but everything else about it was ordinary, which was a good thing. A normal sized front (even though it didn't need the space), a normal hatchback, normal seats inside.

Since then, we've gotten falcon wing doors, which can be very annoying. Door handles that you have to PRESS hard (and tell your friends how to open). Second row seats that don't fold flat. Weird buttons to open falcon wing doors that no one knows how to use. An all glass roof that lets in more heat than a regular roof and more glare than many people can tolerate.

Model 3 is going to continue this glorious tradition with air vents that look awful and might be impractical. A floating screen that just looks weird. Much less storage than even the tiny Chevy Bolt.

And the next car, a smaller crossover is rumored to have falcon wing doors too.

Tesla is very much in danger of losing the plot line...

Oh, indeed. Ever since Model S, Tesla has been really loosing the plot on the no-weirdmobiles part of the equation. I blame hubris and excessive love of glass, combined with religious cost-optimization at the cost of functionality and usability.

For example, this combination of love of glass combined with cost-optimizations means we have an increasing number of massive glass surfaces on all Teslas (now Model S included), that do not have any kind of motorized or even mechanical integrated sunscreens. When driving my Model X, I keep playing the the sunvisors more than I keep my hands on the steering wheel. Model 3 got the big rear glass and there goes its hatchback trunk, that made Model S so versatile.

And let's not even get started on the falcon wings, that at the end of the day are only good for two things: looking showy/embarrassing and putting in baby seats. Any third-row upside is completely lost on the current design (the wings are too small for that) and the list of downsides is endless. And of course those doors forced Tesla to have in-seat seatbelts resulting in a non-folding seat design... Now neither Model X or, it seems, even Model 3 have sunroofs, which would actually be a nice functional thing to have... instead we have big scorching glass without integrated sunscreens.

And then there's the dashboard. In Model S, Tesla had the brave idea of a software upgradeable car. This is actually good, useful innovation. They put in enough screens and manual steering wheel controls to make it work. And then they made software 7.0, took away a lot of useful stuff in the name of design and made it all terrible... But that's not where they stopped, with the Model 3, in the name of cost savings, they apparently took away everything from the dash, including regular vents and an instrument cluster. That dash is the result of near-religious focus on a minimalist utopia.

I'm not saying going beyond what Model S/X is automatically bad, but I don't think Model 3 was designed to be the optimal solution, a second version of the Model S/X, the Model S/X dashboard refined and with just cheaper parts (smaller screen etc.)... no, it was designed with the idea that removing everything is a bold statement (and going overboard with the cheap to make idea). And that's exactly how weirdmobiles are born.

Model X and Model 3 are definitely not regular cars, let alone versatile regular cars. They are at the very least borderline weirdmobiles as someone put it. Unlike Roadster, unlike Model S, which are perfectly normal and good in their class/age group, even if we forget about the BEV part.

That said, Model 3 will still sell well. There is no competition. However, once there is competition, things might be different.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Ok the Scion xB only has a central gauge cluster...

Toyota Yaris

Toyota echo

Toyota Prius

Saturn Ion

Scion, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Echo, Toyota Prius...

I like the company Model 3 is in.

 

[EV-lutioin]

Oh, indeed. Ever since Model S, Tesla has been really loosing the plot on the no-weirdmobiles part of the equation. I blame hubris and excessive love of glass, combined with religious cost-optimization at the cost of functionality and usability.

For example, this combination of love of glass combined with cost-optimizations means we have an increasing number of massive glass surfaces on all Teslas (now Model S included), that do not have any kind of motorized or even mechanical integrated sunscreens. When driving my Model X, I keep playing the the sunvisors more than I keep my hands on the steering wheel. Model 3 got the big rear glass and there goes its hatchback trunk, that made Model S so versatile.

And let's not even get started on the falcon wings, that at the end of the day are only good for two things: looking showy/embarrassing and putting in baby seats. Any third-row upside is completely lost on the current design (the wings are too small for that) and the list of downsides is endless. And of course those doors forced Tesla to have in-seat seatbelts resulting in a non-folding seat design... Now neither Model X or, it seems, even Model 3 have sunroofs, which would actually be a nice functional thing to have... instead we have big scorching glass without integrated sunscreens.

And then there's the dashboard. In Model S, Tesla had the brave idea of a software upgradeable car. This is actually good, useful innovation. They put in enough screens and manual steering wheel controls to make it work. And then they made software 7.0, took away a lot of useful stuff in the name of design and made it all terrible... But that's not where they stopped, with the Model 3, in the name of cost savings, they apparently took away everything from the dash, including regular vents and an instrument cluster. That dash is the result of near-religious focus on a minimalist utopia.

I'm not saying going beyond what Model S/X is automatically bad, but I don't think Model 3 was designed to be the optimal solution, a second version of the Model S/X, the Model S/X dashboard refined and with just cheaper parts (smaller screen etc.)... no, it was designed with the idea that removing everything is a bold statement (and going overboard with the cheap to make idea). And that's exactly how weirdmobiles are born.

Model X and Model 3 are definitely not regular cars, let alone versatile regular cars. They are at the very least borderline weirdmobiles as someone put it. Unlike Roadster, unlike Model S, which are perfectly normal and good in their class/age group, even if we forget about the BEV part.

That said, Model 3 will still sell well. There is no competition. However, once there is competition, things might be different.

Sounds like you better get that I-Pace

 

[T34ME]

What is cheap weird cars no one likes, Alex?


(Maybe the Prius)

Love my Prius PHEV! It is a keeper and will be parked next to my Model 3.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Sounds like you better get that I-Pace

I may, I may. But I'll patiently wait to see what's what with the Model 3 and the competition. I doubt I'll be buying anything in 2017 (after all, already bought the Model X), so next year there should be more choice...

 

[Sonny Daze]

Looks like only 2 stalks, one fewer than the S. Elon should add that to his list.

Ok the Scion xB only has a central gauge cluster...

Toyota Yaris

Toyota echo

Toyota Prius

Saturn Ion

Comparing it to a bunch of cars I wouldn't drive if you paid me isn't helping any.

 

[T34ME]

This was their chance to make EV cars tempt us away from ICE.

Establishing your independence from the oil industry should be enough to tempt you away from ICE. You don't get it, do you?

 

[Tech_Guy]

Comparing it to a bunch of cars I wouldn't drive if you paid me isn't helping any.

Agreed guess you should just get a MS then like Elon said

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Establishing your independence from the oil industry should be enough to tempt you away from ICE. You don't get it, go you?

I guess the point is: people are worried, does Tesla remember that enough.

They got it SO right with Model S - a versatile, normal car. The change to BEV is big enough, let that speak for itself, don't make the rest any harder to approach. You don't have to re-invent the steering wheel so to speak. Re-inventing the drivetrain and fuel infra, that is achievement enough.

Then they made the Model X and the Model 3. Neither of which had to be different like this. They could have made a larger version and a cheaper version of Model S and put all their innovation into the differentiators: the BEV drivetrain and the software platform.

Instead they go increasingly all in on the weirdmobile.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Agreed guess you should just get a MS then like Elon said

Funny you should say that.

It just occurred to me earlier today that Model 3 may be its biggest anti-seller.

Elon should just reveal it and the crowds will flock to Model S.

(Only kidding of course, Model 3 will still succeed because it is unique and priced competitively. There is demand for large-battery BEV and almost nobody else is offering.)

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Here's a tought exercise: And be honest, now. If BMW had put this interior into an i3, would you have called it innovative or a weirdmobile?

I think we'd be hearing preaching how Tesla got it right in Model S/X and BMW just doesn't get it how a BEV can and should be a normal car...

 

[sparkypete]

Establishing your independence from the oil industry should be enough to tempt you away from ICE. You don't get it, go you?

It's not me or people in this forum that need tempting or to 'get it' - it's the people who don't care or believe in man-made climate change. A compelling product will attract them too - and benefit us all. Anything a bit odd or tacky will push them the other way.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

It's not me or people in this forum that need tempting or to 'get it' - it's the people who don't care or believe in man-made climate change. A compelling product will attract them too - and benefit us all. Anything a bit odd or tacky will push them the other way.

...and that was our argument against weirdmobiles - and Tesla's too! That's what made Model S so great! It is normal enough, versatile enough...

And then Tesla goes and turns Model X and 3 into weirdmobiles with massive glass surfaces replacing practicality and weirdmobile interiors (and doors in Model X)...

 

[sandpiper]

I guess the point is: people are worried, does Tesla remember that enough.

They got it SO right with Model S - a versatile, normal car. The change to BEV is big enough, let that speak for itself, don't make the rest any harder to approach. You don't have to re-invent the steering wheel so to speak. Re-inventing the drivetrain and fuel infra, that is achievement enough.

Then they made the Model X and the Model 3. Neither of which had to be different like this. They could have made a larger version and a cheaper version of Model S and put all their innovation into the differentiators: the BEV drivetrain and the software platform.

Instead they go increasingly all in on the weirdmobile.

That's partially true. The layout of a proper EV (battery under the floor, no engine to speak of, dirt simple powertrain) creates a different set of design limitations, and both allows and requires some differences in the way that the vehicle is built.

You have some idiocy in the market right now, where some companies (cough... BMW i8), are using speakers to make the vehicles louder, or just sound different. And some CVT cars actually give you the option to "shift" between sets of fixed ratios, emulating a regular transmission. Companies do this because they haven't the guts to let the vehicles be what they are.

Tesla didn't do that, with the notable exception of the faux-rad on the first model S and which they have not dumped. Telsa is trying to look at the vehicles, imagining the potential that's there without the limitations imposed by old ICE paradigms. That's not the same as making a "weirdmobile". EVs are simple. You don't need a continuous display of engine operating parameters, that drove the big instrument clusters in ICE cars.

 

[EV-lutioin]

I am not quite understanding the weird mobile connection.... have you not seen the new Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas? They are all weird... I mean take a look at the new Prius for goodness sakes. Now take a look at the exterior of the Model 3 and note its comparative lack of weirdness. Yes, the interior is minimal and the same complaint has be waged against the MS and MX for years (not luxurious enough.. blah, blah, blah). A sexy exterior and a minimal interior is what defines a Tesla. Deep breath everyone, it will be fine.