German: No touching Touchscreen allowed

Stickboy46

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I think the mechanical/tactile interfaces in a Ford are superior than what Tesla provides. 2 seconds to change wiper speed is unacceptable to me. It doesn't rain that often here but when it does, I have to adjust the wiper speed quite often because the severity of the precipitation varies. I admire Tesla for what they are doing and hope they continue to bring ground breaking EVs to market. The world needs this.

However, I am not ready to buy any of their vehicles because I have different expectations from my vehicles. Our test drive was probably the worst experience I have ever had test driving a vehicle. Before we even left the garage, we had to change vehicles because the first car was performing an update and it wasn't ready to drive. A second vehicle became available moments later so we headed off in that one only to be unable to adjust the radio, work the navigation or adjust the climate control. We could see the controls on the screen across the bottom but there was some other dialog box open in the foreground that rendered those touch buttons inoperative. We could not find any way to 'close' that window so we were forced to drive the car without the ability to use those other controls. At the end of our ordeal, the Tesla employee showed us how to deal with that issue.....you have to touch and swipe it down out of the way. Probably something our kids could have figured out but we weren't that smart apparently......

My wife drove first and got about 2 blocks away and pulled over because she didn't feel safe. Her visibility from the driver's seat was poor and the blind spots made her uncomfortable. We sat parked for several minutes trying to locate the controls to adjust the side view mirrors. Never did figure it out. Looked for an owner's manual in the glove box but the glove box doesn't exist or there isn't an obvious way to open it. She decided she wanted me to drive back and it took us a while to figure out how to open the doors. Eventually we found the door latches. Turns out the door latches are for emergency us only and when used, can tear the sealing rubber around the window.....something that was pointed out to us after we walked back to the Tesla Store. Yes, we had to walk back. Apparently the vehicle shuts off when you get out of the driver's seat and then it wouldn't restart because we didn't have the phone key or card key. They don't give that out to people when they test drive these things so we couldn't get the vehicle restarted. If there is a start button....we couldn't find it. There are interior buttons to open the doors.....those didn't work.

I suppose if I were to purchase the vehicle I could learn how to operate all the various controls and be on my happy way. But I would never feel comfortable loaning it to a friend or family because they could have the same experience as our test drive. No thank you. I expect to be able to operate and adjust certain things without having to take my eyes off the road or use the voice activated feature. Things like electric mirrors, intermittent wipers, temp controls, fan speed, radio volume etc. At a minimum....those need to be mechanical tactile controls for me or I won't purchase the car. I like tech as much as the next guy.....but some things are still old school for me.
I mean... If you want the exact same car you've always owned.. then sure it isn't it. But you literally just listed a bunch of stuff that once you do it once to either rarely have to do it again (adjust mirrors and such) or it becomes second nature.

Also everything you listed here (Things like electric mirrors, intermittent wipers, temp controls, fan speed, radio volume etc. At a minimum....those need to be mechanical tactile controls for me or I won't purchase the car.) Can be done by voice or physical control (volume) with the exception of the mirrors. You probably shouldn't be adjusting your mirrors while driving though anyways. That would take way longer than the 2 seconds you said was unacceptable for wipers.
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SnBGC

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I mean... If you want the exact same car you've always owned.. then sure it isn't it. But you literally just listed a bunch of stuff that once you do it once to either rarely have to do it again (adjust mirrors and such) or it becomes second nature.

Also everything you listed here (Things like electric mirrors, intermittent wipers, temp controls, fan speed, radio volume etc. At a minimum....those need to be mechanical tactile controls for me or I won't purchase the car.) Can be done by voice or physical control (volume) with the exception of the mirrors. You probably shouldn't be adjusting your mirrors while driving though anyways. That would take way longer than the 2 seconds you said was unacceptable for wipers.
Understand we all have different tastes and expectations. For many, that design will suffice but not for me. Voice controls are not something I enjoy using. Last resort sort of thing.
 

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There is a button always present on the home screen for the wipers. Assuming you don't use Auto (which is what is used 99% of the time), then it's two taps in the same region to turn it on to a specific speed. If you just want to run the wipers once, you can tap on the stalk like you do on every other car.

Total time to turn the wipers on to a specific speed is probably 2 seconds.
You don’t need to convince me. You need to convince a German judge.
 

dbsb3233

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Understand we all have different tastes and expectations. For many, that design will suffice but not for me. Voice controls are not something I enjoy using. Last resort sort of thing.
I'm with you. To me it's a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type of thing. Taking away tactile controls for various common functions and making them ONLY available on the center console is a step backward to me, not forward.

Having said that, sure, there's some non-driving controls that are fine to move there. Like ambient cabin lighting. Or most of the radio/audio controls (although I still want volume control on the steering wheel, and preferably a volume dial on the center console too). And obviously things like charging settings, etc.
 

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I would like to point out that I am not a Tesla hater. They are doing some very great things for the industry. I just think they neglected some things that are important to my demographic group (I am in my early 50s...). At my age, we start to simplify our lifes.....not make them more complicated. Teslas lack of ergonomic planning puts me off a bit.

I do think that whoever is responsible for the exterior styling of the second gen Model S is a genius. When properly accessorized, that car is one of the best looking cars in history. Probably #2 right behind the 911. Gorgeous car. Very nicely designed. Get an Italian automotive team to redesign the interior and it would be a wonderful way to get around. I probably would buy something like that as long as they added a few knobs and switches to play around with. :)
 


EVer

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They are doing some very great things for the industry. I just think they neglected some things that are important to my demographic group (I am in my early 50s...). At my age, we start to simplify our lifes.....not make them more complicated.
I'm ten years behind you, and I love the simplicity of my model 3.
 

Maric

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The person got in a wreck, got a ticket and decided to fight the ticket. I also fail to we how this is political unless the guy purposefully wrecked his car to get the ticket to then appeal the ticket so that he could lose and setup Tesla, genius!
I'm saying it's political in the sense that Germany is taking this measure not for the safety of it's citizens, but more so because one of if not their largest industry is threatened by Tesla.

In no way am I defending Tesla or the shortcomings of the UI in their vehicles.
 

JCHLi

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I'm saying it's political in the sense that Germany is taking this measure not for the safety of it's citizens, but more so because one of if not their largest industry is threatened by Tesla.

In no way am I defending Tesla or the shortcomings of the UI in their vehicles.
I'm saying this seems very unlikely to be political because it arose from a person crashing their car and getting a ticket.

The person appealed which resulted in the ruling. The court, government whatever didn't set out to get Tesla, they heard an appeal of a ticket.
 

Maric

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My next question is, has Germany outlawed use of all cellphones while driving? I mean, are cellphones completely shut down and unusable when the car is in motion? Because I guarantee if not, statistically, cellphones are causing way more accidents than having to glance over at a touchscreen. It's the same exact concept, only even more precarious. Cellphone screen is smaller, more difficult to navigate quickly and efficiently, and way more common in day to day life by sheer volume of ice cars and drivers with personal tech. ?
 

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My next question is, has Germany outlawed use of all cellphones while driving? I mean, are cellphones completely shut down and unusable when the car is in motion? Because I guarantee if not, statistically, cellphones are causing way more accidents than having to glance over at a touchscreen. It's the same exact concept, only even more precarious. Cellphone screen is smaller, more difficult to navigate quickly and efficiently, and way more common in day to day life by sheer volume of ice cars and drivers with personal tech. ?
Actually, they already did (as most of EU countries as well):

In Germany, the laws concerning the use of mobile phones whilst driving have recently become more specific. Drivers are not allowed to pick up, hold or use their phone whilst the motor of the car is on. ... This means that drivers will also be fined if they are caught taking a call through an in-ear Bluetooth device.
 

Maric

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Actually, they already did (as most of EU countries as well):

In Germany, the laws concerning the use of mobile phones whilst driving have recently become more specific. Drivers are not allowed to pick up, hold or use their phone whilst the motor of the car is on. ... This means that drivers will also be fined if they are caught taking a call through an in-ear Bluetooth device.
That's basically what we do in the U.S. But honestly without a hard lock, it's a joke. At least on U.S. freeways, I see people on their phones daily. If car companies are serious about safety, the only interaction with personal tech while in a vehicle will have to be via the vehicle. Voice the most obvious but I suspect some type of HUD tech will be an option in the future.
 

JCHLi

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Yes, if you get in a wreck while using any device you'll likely get a ticket.

Should have been on "autopilot" and never had an issue I guess.
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