Photo: inamachineshop via Reddit
We've been having various sightings of Tesla's Model 3 release candidates over the past few months, but the cars' interiors somehow seemed to have escaped the prying lenses of the amateur spy photographers so far.
Either the car was in motion, it had bad reflections in its windows or the people driving it were considerate enough to cover most of the interior while the EV was charging, the fact of the matter is that we were mostly in the dark regarding the Model 3's cabin design.
Over this weekend, though, somebody managed to grab a few photos of three prototypes that were seemingly left unattended, and with their windows partially rolled down (well, two of them, at least). How fortunate, wouldn't you say? This means we got the best view of the dashboard so far, so we can discuss a little about what we see.
First of all, let's spare a few words about the steering wheel. It's awful, isn't it? A wheel with so few buttons on it reminds us of cars from twenty years ago. Sure, the Model 3 will probably have voice commands, so the lack of buttons is actually a sign of its technological advancements, but that's not how our 2017-calibrated sensors see it.
The dashboard itself looks like a piece of furniture that would fit beautifully in a modernist living room. It reminds us a bit of BMW i3's piece, but the Model 3's is even more radical in its simplicity. Essentially a long wooden plank with a slit of the same length on top of it (which substitutes the classic ventilation vents that would have indeed destroyed the purity of the design), it doesn't seem to have any practical use or any hidden openings.
There also doesn't appear to be any heads-up display system - at least not of the sort we're used to right now. As a driver, that has me a little worried as I'd hate to rely on the large center display for information such as speed or sat nav directions. And that's because even though the screen is definitely large enough, it sits too close to the driver, forcing them to swivel their heads quite a lot and thus taking the eyes off the road for too long.
Elon Musk said early on that Model 3's controls will feel like a "spaceship," but nothing we've seen so far suggests that would be the case. Still, considering spaceships aren't actually real, anyone can imagine their controls whichever way they like.
The interiors of these particular cars appear to be a mess. Between the soda cans and the bags of gummy bears, there's very little to be seen of the rest of the car. However, it's safe to say the minimalistic approach will continue throughout the cabin, augmenting the already impressive roominess, given the EV's exterior dimensions.
Over this weekend, though, somebody managed to grab a few photos of three prototypes that were seemingly left unattended, and with their windows partially rolled down (well, two of them, at least). How fortunate, wouldn't you say? This means we got the best view of the dashboard so far, so we can discuss a little about what we see.
First of all, let's spare a few words about the steering wheel. It's awful, isn't it? A wheel with so few buttons on it reminds us of cars from twenty years ago. Sure, the Model 3 will probably have voice commands, so the lack of buttons is actually a sign of its technological advancements, but that's not how our 2017-calibrated sensors see it.
The dashboard itself looks like a piece of furniture that would fit beautifully in a modernist living room. It reminds us a bit of BMW i3's piece, but the Model 3's is even more radical in its simplicity. Essentially a long wooden plank with a slit of the same length on top of it (which substitutes the classic ventilation vents that would have indeed destroyed the purity of the design), it doesn't seem to have any practical use or any hidden openings.
There also doesn't appear to be any heads-up display system - at least not of the sort we're used to right now. As a driver, that has me a little worried as I'd hate to rely on the large center display for information such as speed or sat nav directions. And that's because even though the screen is definitely large enough, it sits too close to the driver, forcing them to swivel their heads quite a lot and thus taking the eyes off the road for too long.
Elon Musk said early on that Model 3's controls will feel like a "spaceship," but nothing we've seen so far suggests that would be the case. Still, considering spaceships aren't actually real, anyone can imagine their controls whichever way they like.
The interiors of these particular cars appear to be a mess. Between the soda cans and the bags of gummy bears, there's very little to be seen of the rest of the car. However, it's safe to say the minimalistic approach will continue throughout the cabin, augmenting the already impressive roominess, given the EV's exterior dimensions.
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