Photo: Tesla
Tesla introduced the controversial steering yoke a year ago, alongside the refreshed Model S and Model X and everyone was in shock. Tesla refused to even consider offering an optional regular steering wheel at the time, but a recent discovery shows the American EV maker might budge on its decision.
The main problem with the yoke steering wheel is that, although it looks cool, it is not that practical at doing what a wheel usually does – turning. You might get used to it in normal driving situations, although turn-to-turn maneuvers are still difficult. But it can become outright dangerous when you try to recover control of the car on an icy road, for instance.
A solution to this problem might be what Toyota showed us with their bZ4X – a progressive steering algorithm. This means that moving the steering wheel slightly will result in a small correction to the trajectory of the car, but as the angle of rotation increases, the wheels will steer more steeply. It would thus be possible to have a full steer while only turning the steering wheel 270 degrees. This would prevent taking the hands off it during maneuvering.
Nevertheless, Tesla decided that developing progressive steering would be costly and time-consuming. With Elon Musk so optimistic about cracking autonomous driving in a matter of months, it wouldn’t make sense, right? Well, it turns out that Tesla changed its opinion about the steering wheel in the meantime. Either this or the full self-driving program is not going according to plan.
A Tesla hacker spotted a new option in Tesla’s service tools, which should allow choosing between the infamous yoke and a regular round steering wheel. The service is not live yet, but the finding is an indication that Tesla is at least considering reintroducing the round steering wheel to Model S and Model X. This came after earlier reports of Tesla testing a regular airbag horn button.
Having the option, even as a retrofit, is a good thing happening to Tesla owners, no doubt about it. But the strange thing happening is that not everyone is impressed with the new findings, as shown by several replies in the Twitter thread below. Several people indicated they are fine with the yoke, and some even said they will never go back to a round steering wheel. Shrugs.
A solution to this problem might be what Toyota showed us with their bZ4X – a progressive steering algorithm. This means that moving the steering wheel slightly will result in a small correction to the trajectory of the car, but as the angle of rotation increases, the wheels will steer more steeply. It would thus be possible to have a full steer while only turning the steering wheel 270 degrees. This would prevent taking the hands off it during maneuvering.
Nevertheless, Tesla decided that developing progressive steering would be costly and time-consuming. With Elon Musk so optimistic about cracking autonomous driving in a matter of months, it wouldn’t make sense, right? Well, it turns out that Tesla changed its opinion about the steering wheel in the meantime. Either this or the full self-driving program is not going according to plan.
A Tesla hacker spotted a new option in Tesla’s service tools, which should allow choosing between the infamous yoke and a regular round steering wheel. The service is not live yet, but the finding is an indication that Tesla is at least considering reintroducing the round steering wheel to Model S and Model X. This came after earlier reports of Tesla testing a regular airbag horn button.
Having the option, even as a retrofit, is a good thing happening to Tesla owners, no doubt about it. But the strange thing happening is that not everyone is impressed with the new findings, as shown by several replies in the Twitter thread below. Several people indicated they are fine with the yoke, and some even said they will never go back to a round steering wheel. Shrugs.
choose your destiny... pic.twitter.com/E9zdhMHDSa
— green (@greentheonly) February 24, 2022
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