Vegan vs leather steering wheel

[dogldogl]

Can anyone with recent experience of both the leather and vegan steering wheel, comment on the perceived or functional differences?

I'm accustomed to the leather (heated) wheel & love the feel & function.

Further - I presume all new orders are vegan (ie. plastic) unless explicitly specified by the purchaser?

 

[mknox]

Gawd, I hope not. The vegan seats in my 2018 X are terrible compared to the leather in my former 2013 S. I don't think I'd accept it on a steering wheel.

 

[boaterva]

Are you sure there are any ‘vegan’ steering wheels? I read where that was the only piece of leather still on the cars because it was difficult to form the ‘fabric’ around the steering wheel.

It might be available on custom order but I bet it sucks.

 

[jgrgnt]

I have the vegan-wrapped wheel in the X (via special-order) and the leather-wrapped wheel in the 3.

The vegan wheel is not as soft as leather, and it looks and feels a little rougher. It's not the same material they use for the vegan seats--it's more a roughly textured vinyl. But it's much, much easier to clean and maintain. All of my leather wheels eventually deteriorate with time, regardless of cleaning/conditioning method.

After 1.5 years, the vegan-wrapped wheel still looks brand new. It doesn't accumulate oils and it's not as susceptible to tears and ripples. If they offered it on the 3, I would have ordered it.

To be clear, I vastly prefer the vegan-wrapped wheel. I look forward to when Tesla eventually makes it standard on all their cars.

 

[LoveEV]

I think vegan is standard now

 

[dogldogl]

I think vegan is standard now

Perhaps for other tesla vehicles (?) - but not the model X.
I also couldn't find any specifics on the tesla Model X website.
My tesla loyalty advisor just mentioned the Model X steering wheel is leather.

(as of Oct 30, 2018).

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Gawd, I hope not. The vegan seats in my 2018 X are terrible compared to the leather in my former 2013 S. I don't think I'd accept it on a steering wheel.

Right . . . .

Because it makes soooo much sense to drive an EV and slather the interior in the skins of animals that have had their brains blown out, in addition to adding more GHG's than all transport combined (as reported by the UN early this century--you must have missed the memo?):

Facts and Sources

We have owned 6 or 7 Model S's and MUCH prefer the new vegan interior: no visible wear (very much unlike leather which looks worn after a few months), no cruelty (see meat.org and "TEDx Carnism"), and it's far, far better for the environment.

 

[jgrgnt]

Perhaps for other tesla vehicles (?) - but not the model X.
I also couldn't find any specifics on the tesla Model X website.
My tesla loyalty advisor just mentioned the Model X steering wheel is leather.

(as of Oct 30, 2018).

It's worth following up with a different advisor. The vegan steering wheel is not advertised anywhere and cannot be configured through the online Design Studio, so you must go through an owner advisor to request it. Your OA will then coordinate with the factory to get it approved. When I ordered our X, it took a few days to get confirmation.

 

[HandleX]

It's worth following up with a different advisor. The vegan steering wheel is not advertised anywhere and cannot be configured through the online Design Studio, so you must go through an owner advisor to request it. Your OA will then coordinate with the factory to get it approved. When I ordered our X, it took a few days to get confirmation.

Yup! Unless you specifically special order your Tesla with a vegan steering wheel through an OA, the stock premium steering wheel will be leather even though the rest of the interior is vegan. This came up during the 2018 Shareholder Meeting when someone from PETA had a question. At about 55:58 of the video below.

 

[mknox]

Because it makes soooo much sense to drive an EV and slather the interior in the skins of animals that have had their brains blown out, in addition to adding more GHG's than all transport combined (as reported by the UN early this century--you must have missed the memo?):

I did not buy my Teslas for those reasons. In fact, environmental considerations were fairly far down my list of "pros" as I considered my first Model S purchase. And that is exactly what Tesla was hoping for: to remove EVs from the environmental niche and make it an appealing car for all kinds of reasons. Seems to be working, and at the end of the day, regardless of motivations, the environment still wins.

So if Tesla wants to alienate a segment of their customer base with this vegan nonsense, it will be to their own detriment and to the detriment of transportation electrification in general. Make it an option, sure but don't force it down everyone's throat.

 

[childcarepro]

I beg to differ with those claiming standard genuine leather. I took delivery of MX 100D in late August 2018, and mine DEFINITELY has vegan leather wrapped wheel. Feels spongy and totally different from the genuine leather wrap of my 2015 MS.

BTW, anyone know where I can get my steering wheel wrapped in genuine leather? I've seen options on eBay, but I'm leery.

 

[Paul2017]

I bought a Model X about a year ago and just recently had my steering wheel changed by mobile service. The thread on the original wheel was loose. They didn’t tell me about the change to vegan, at first glance it looked very similar, but it’s a lot rougher to the touch. Now it makes sense, they put vegan wheel on. I prefer the feel of the leather. At least I know I am not crazy thanks to you guys.

 

[BLKTSLA]

I beg to differ with those claiming standard genuine leather. I took delivery of MX 100D in late August 2018, and mine DEFINITELY has vegan leather wrapped wheel. Feels spongy and totally different from the genuine leather wrap of my 2015 MS.

BTW, anyone know where I can get my steering wheel wrapped in genuine leather? I've seen options on eBay, but I'm leery.

The original MS had a leather wrapped steering wheel up until end of 2014. This leather was real leather and scratched easily along with developing a shiny look as all leather steering wheels do that absorb oils produced by hands. After 2014 the standard steering wheel is what I refer to as synthetic leather which didn't scratch easily and does not absorb the oils from hands and thus maintains its matte finish/look. Not sure if this is "vegan leather" but its definitely synthetic. To my knowledge, Tesla is not producing the original steering wheel and anyone with an older car getting their wheel replaced will get a new wheel.

 

[childcarepro]

The original MS had a leather wrapped steering wheel up until end of 2014. This leather was real leather and scratched easily along with developing a shiny look as all leather steering wheels do that absorb oils produced by hands. After 2014 the standard steering wheel is what I refer to as synthetic leather which didn't scratch easily and does not absorb the oils from hands and thus maintains its matte finish/look. Not sure if this is "vegan leather" but its definitely synthetic. To my knowledge, Tesla is not producing the original steering wheel and anyone with an older car getting their wheel replaced will get a new wheel.

I can't 100% guarantee my 2015 MS steering wheel is genuine leather, but it IS shinier than it was when new, has a few scratches on it, and feels substantial, doesn't feel fake. My 2018 MX steering wheel doesn't feel solid, feels cheap and spongy. My 2-month old MX 100D was totaled in an accident a month ago; tried to order the new MX with genuine leather, was told not an option. (I WAS able to special order FSD though, "off menu.")

 

[BLKTSLA]

I can't 100% guarantee my 2015 MS steering wheel is genuine leather, but it IS shinier than it was when new, has a few scratches on it, and feels substantial, doesn't feel fake. My 2018 MX steering wheel doesn't feel solid, feels cheap and spongy. My 2-month old MX 100D was totaled in an accident a month ago; tried to order the new MX with genuine leather, was told not an option. (I WAS able to special order FSD though, "off menu.")

It's definitely possible that if you have an early 2015 build you have the leather steering wheel. I personally prefer the synthetic's ability to resist scratches and not absorb oil as much. Scratches on the leather wheel are unsightly.

 

[Yinn]

We might also be missing the fact that there are a lot of different kinds of leather as well. Here are my observations.

Original MS had a firm leather. As it wore, it got a glossy type of sheen and hardness to it. It had a slightly bitter taste as well when the leather aged (joking!)

As the cars moved into a refresh, the materials were all renewed. The leather (seats and steering) wore differently and felt different. They became softer in general. They also didn't develop a sheen to them. I'm not sure if this is a different leather material, or if it was a coating or what. But this observation is on a car that strictly has leather seating on the order sheet.

The other difference in the steering wheel specifically was the new Subzero package. Subzero added a heated steering wheel, which came with additional padding. This made the wheel minimally thicker, but also noticeably squishy and spongy feeling. The wheels with the same material but without heating elements were noticably firmer; but not as slick or hard as the original ones in the early MS

As the interiors moved away from leather and to vegan...I didn't notice any difference. The vegan felt and looked the same to me; probably because that it was according to @HandleX

 

[dogldogl]

Gawd, I hope not. The vegan seats in my 2018 X are terrible compared to the leather in my former 2013 S. I don't think I'd accept it on a steering wheel.

I can report back now that I've collected my Nov 2018 X. It does not have the leather steering wheel, despite the loyalty adviser's assurance to the contrary, prior to delivery.