A UX designer walks into a Tesla Bar (2021)

Some comments dismiss this author as a new driver with a learning curve but Tesla has impacted muscle memory several times now. Why did they change this row of icons anyway? I don’t think they take the responsibility seriously.

Why? Seriously, why?

If I could take the lower half of a Tesla Model Y with a totally average Toyota upper half at the Model Y pricing I would buy that car in a heartbeat. Just swapping the infotainment unit to customizable Android Auto with CarPlay and I would consider it. It’s such a shame to have good engineering bundled together with bad opinions.

So many useless features and all the core stuff is harder to use.

I was so frustrated with my w213 E class Mercedes, I went back to a used fiat Punto.

Everything is much easier and better, it's less comfortable and my SO has hard time sleeping in it on long trips, but aside that it's much better.

Gets a scratch? Who cares. Someone bumps my car while parking? Who cares. Fuel economy? Much better. Maintenance cost? Much lower. Insurance? Much lower.

Everything is analog and easy to use.

I am more and more convinced that I will only be using vintage cars in the future, and all this digital stuff can die on the spot, and Tesla crap more than anything else.

My buddy told me that that's the emergency release, and to not use that, because it can damage the car if used too many times, and had to show me the real door handle. (I have already forgotten where it is.)

It's probably good that in an emergency, my hand would naturally reach for the thing that would release me from the car - but on the other hand, it's wild that the natural muscle memory of decades leads me to a thing that'll fuck up his car.

I'd buy another EV. I wouldn't buy another Tesla, because of the UX. Lack of physical buttons and changing UI. The infotainment screen crashed a couple of times in a year, the car was fine but suddenly the only place for car status feedback was gone. Lastly, not having a console in front of you, and needing to look to the side to see things like speed limit just felt unacceptable.

I drive a Tesla Model 3 daily and agree to the critism about it's interface. On my last holidays I rented a Suzuki Vitara. Indeed it's much easier to find and operate the standard controls like for climate. Also cruise control with its 6 buttons took only a little learning.

The worst turned out to be CarPlay, a feature I always thought I'm missing with my Tesla. Occasionally it just didn't work, even though the phone was connected. So you get no navigation or you stop/start/wait until it works. And repeat that after every car stop situation. And when it works, forget about zooming or seeing anything more than the next step on this tiny display.

All in all I was happy to return to my Tesla again. But then I know all important controls from memory.

Anyway: Analog cars ruled indeed. I'd just use a simple phone holder too rather than anything like CarPlay.

edit: I'm not saying it's flawless, but the alternatives are even worse. On balance, I like it.

In fact if you take a look at the UI in general, it's all pretty disconnected. We have 50% of the screen taken up with a visualization of the cars around you (but not all of them, and you can't 'trust' it). Next to it we have a map. The map directions are not shown on the visualization. You can't use the visualization to check for cars as you would in mirrors, as its not accurate. So why is it even shown? They could use it to show navigation routes rendered as they are seen, so offramps are shown to the user in 3d rather than the overhead map tiles. That would be actually useful.

I’ve starting seeing newer teslas indicate the complete opposite direction than they are turning many times in recent history. They no longer have an indicator stalk (as of 2024 model 3) but instead two small buttons on the wheel close enough that I’m not surprised this happens. I don’t think they should be allowed on the road as-is. I’m surprised they pass safety standards. No indicator stalk is definitely a bridge too far.

The auto wipers not working is another. It’d be ok if there was a wiper stalk. There isn’t.

In much of the world you can buy better electric cars for less. Electric cars which don’t have an overly minimalist interface. The USA has high tariffs so Tesla will survive here but they are giving away their international market share with their designs.

5 minutes and they don’t know where all the buttons are? Colour me shocked. Any new car needs human recalibration of muscle memory.

I want more buttons too but any new car has you scrambling in rain, fog for buttons. Even your muscle memory for looking at the speedometer is all askew.

I do think that the HVAC system could use permanent buttons, or at least persistent screen buttons.

Edit: My favourite bit about being irrationally downvoted is when someone comments about how I should “read the article more carefully” when they themselves have not read the article or my comment carefully.

If you frequently need to demist, simple drag the demist option onto the app bar, then it's a single click.

The notion that every function needs to be accessible with a single click is what leads to ridiculously busy cabins that look like aircraft flight decks.

Complaints about Tesla changing its UI ("real pain of being at the mercy of the manufacturer who can completely change how your car works overnight") are also ridiculous. Owning a Tesla is a rewarding experience precisely because its OTA updates work consistently well, and its UI is well-thought-out and responsive. If Tesla wasn't allowed to change its UI, we'd never have great features like the customisable app bar. And in any case, in the years I've owned my Model S, there has only been one major redesign of the UI, and it greatly simplified and improved the whole experience.