
What Tesla’s Model 3 UI Reveals About Its Vision for the Future - tresbonn
https://blog.figma.com/what-teslas-model-3-ui-reveals-about-its-vision-for-the-future-eb01a75ae979
======
so33
> They weren’t even trying to hide it, the middle screen was basically a giant
> middle finger to the rest of the car-building world; a not-so-subtle “F-you”
> to the naysayers, the disbelievers, and the other car companies who insisted
> on playing it safe.

I don't know if I would call it that.

>I don’t think Tesla did this simply to be edgy, dangerous or different. They
did this to prepare people for a world without drivers.

In a world without drivers, a handle to open up the glove compartment,
physically-controlled air conditioning vents, and physical HVAC knobs still
makes sense.

> Instead, the Model 3 has a 8:5 aspect ratio and a resolution of about
> 1920x1200px. ... suggests that Tesla made their center console for watching
> things, not for driving the car.

8:5 is 16:10. What I really think happened is that Tesla took the cheapest
available off-the-shelf 16:10 LCDs. Because what the Model 3 really is is
about cutting costs to get the cheapest electric car on the market, and
ultimately I think that's what informs the Model 3's design the most. A cheap
electric car is in itself a noble goal. I think that it's wishful thinking to
think otherwise.

This seems to be kind of an ad for Figma. That's fine, but it's a poor ad. It
suggests that Figma is a tool that embodies a myopic vision of UI design where
only the screen matters.

~~~
cjrp
> Because what the Model 3 really is is about cutting costs to get the
> cheapest electric car on the market

I thought that was the case, but having seen a few in-depth video reviews
there still seems to be plenty of fat that they easily could have trimmed
without anyone caring. E.g. the charge port cover can be opened
electronically; why? It seems pointless to me, since you have to get out of
the car to plug the charger in anyway.

~~~
_kyran
Self promotion. It's on the outside of the car and may prompt others to
glance/notice it and be intrigued by it.

A pretty low cost for the amount of 'increased' perception of value.

------
gutnor
To be honest, that dampened my excitement for the model 3 a notch.

In order for that design to make sense in today's model 3, it would mean that
very car is just a software update away from autonomy at "we are all watching
netflix instead of looking outside" level. And that software update is coming
very soon, in a matter of maximum 2-3 years.

I'm skeptical. I can very well see the next Model S, or the refreshed model 3
in 5 years achieve that [1], but really that's sacrificing today Model 3 user
for something that's going to never be delivered to them. Not sure I like the
approach of "this is a glimpse of the future that is not for you".

I don't think that there is much need for a lot of button, don't get me wrong.
To me, just somewhat more feature full lever around the wheel - nothing fancy,
just the same you get on most cars and a hud so that the rest of the family
can indeed watch Netflix while the driver does not lose completely every
driving information. Job done, a taste of the future, but not completely
compromised experience for the poor sod that has to drive in the present.

[1] A lot of people that know more than me are skeptical this is even possible
short term, but with no money at stake I'm happy to dream.

~~~
mikeash
I think this article overstates things a bit. I have a Model S which has a bit
more in the way of levers and buttons, but is still really minimal compared to
most cars, and it's fine.

The Model 3 is lacking two main physical controls compared to the Model S.

One is the windshield wiper speed control. Both cars have a button to trigger
the wipers manually. The S also has five speed settings physically accessible:
off, auto-low, auto-high, continuous-low, and continuous-high. The auto wipers
are pretty good (this is the old Autopilot hardware, the new Autopilot
hardware still doesn't have the software for it) and so I hardly ever have to
fiddle with it. I bet a bit of software and hardware improvement can take that
"hardly ever" to "not ever" so I don't think the Model 3 will suffer here...
once the auto-wipers are actually enabled!

The other is cruise control. The Model S has a separate stalk for that, which
you can use to engage, disengage, adjust following distance, and adjust speed.
The Model 3 has it on the PRND stalk and it's just on/off. I don't think
following distance is a big deal. It's pretty much set it and forget it on my
Model S. Speed adjustments are often handy, but a lot of that is because the
car isn't totally reliable at figuring out the current speed limit. When it
does, manual speed adjustments will be needed rarely.

The Model 3 controls are designed around intelligent driver assist features,
but I don't think they're designed around anything close to full autonomy.
They're really just designed around good automatic wipers and intelligent
cruise control, both of which will probably be ready before most of us mere
mortals can obtain one of these cars.

~~~
colmmacc
I have a Model S too, and my one irritation with it is that I don't have a
physical button or dial to turn off the headlights. Whenever I drive onto a
Washington State Ferry at night, it gets me into a bit of trouble.

If you haven't done it; you're required to turn off your headlights the second
you board the ferry, there are signs posted, and the ferry operators will
often check as you board. One reason is that sometimes car owners leave their
lights on, drain their battery, and delay the ferry unloading at the other
end. But even as you debark the ferry, you're required to keep your lights off
until just off the boat. I think glare and operator safety might be factors
too.

But in either direction, if it's night then you need your lights on just
before, or just after the boat, and you'll be driving across a narrow little
articulated loading dock at the time. Trying to drive in those conditions, and
get through 3 taps or however many it is on the console, just isn't going to
happen. So twice now, I've had a boat worker stop my car, yell at me, and have
everyone wait while I go through the LCD to do it.

~~~
mikeash
That's an interesting problem. I've only had to manually fiddle with my lights
once or twice so I hadn't really thought about it.

One thing I think they could really improve would be to enable voice commands
for these things. It's still no substitute for a physical control when you
really need it, but it would help, and it ought to be something they could add
in an update without much trouble.

------
randyrand
Opening the glovebox with the touchscreen is the epitome of bad design, IMO.
After watching Doug demuros review of all of the motorized components of the
model 3 (the doors opening, the gas cap, the glove box, the ventilation
direction, and probably more I've missed) I see a car that's going to break
often. keep it simple stupid.

~~~
prklmn
Not only will things break, but they'll also be a pain to use. People will
hate doing simple things in their car, and this will make them like the car
much less.

------
nixpulvis
One thing that strikes me about this is the lack of tactile feedback. Even
Apple is working hard to fix that aspect of the buttonless phone, but with
cars it's even more important. I don't really want to be fussing with a
touchscreen while operating anything moving fast enough to kill someone (or
cause $$$ in damages). Don't get me wrong I love touchscreens, but they aren't
perfect (sweaty hands, gloves, etc...)

~~~
wnissen
The idea that I would have to locate and press a graphical button to turn up
the fan is pretty much a nightmare. I can do it without looking now. Even a
quality voice-recognition interface would be lousy.

~~~
amluto
Not on a Model S you can't. Which is really annoying when you're in one as a
driver _or_ a passenger.

~~~
greglindahl
The steering wheel controls on Model S can control the fan.

I've noticed that passengers don't seem to have any problem using the touch
screen.

------
smilekzs
During my internship on automotive cost engineering, I quickly learned that
motorized anything on a car costs and weighs leagues more than its mechanical-
only cousin. I am curious why Model 3 went down the path of total
motorization, when it is marketed as a more affordable car.

Also, while I am becoming more open-minded towards touchscreen for non-
realtime controls, E-brakes does NOT seem like one of them --- sure you don't
need it that often, but when you do need it, you'd better pull it RIGHT NOW.
Wiper is also questionable. If full autonomy works then sure I don't really
need a clear view on the road, except it likely won't work as well when it
pours and you need to blast the wiper to max RIGHT NOW.

~~~
stcredzero
_During my internship on automotive cost engineering, I quickly learned that
motorized anything on a car costs and weighs leagues more than its mechanical-
only cousin. I am curious why Model 3 went down the path of total
motorization, when it is marketed as a more affordable car._

Would it be more costly or less costly for Tesla to have just one set of
underlying mechanisms for all of their cars at all luxury levels, or have
different sets of mechanisms depending on luxury level? The motorized
mechanism could be adapted to all levels of luxury by simply changing the
controls.

------
jonknee
Here's a reddit post [1] of a Model 3 owner locked out of his car because the
12v battery was not functioning properly. _There is no physical key for the
car._ The Model 3 appears to be full of these questionable design decisions.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/79rp5w/model_3...](https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/79rp5w/model_3_dead_in_a_parking_lot_trying_to_jump_the/)

~~~
grimgrin
A lot of cars are keyless.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_key#Nomenclature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_key#Nomenclature)

~~~
jonknee
They [almost] all have a physical key. It typically slides out of the fob. I
don't know of a single [non-Tesla] production car that lacks a manual way to
enter. If my "keyless" Audi is completely and truly dead (batteries removed!),
I can unlock it.

Update: changed to reference this is a Tesla rant, not specifically Model 3.

~~~
greglindahl
... Model S and Model X don't have keys, either. You're 5 years late making
this complaint.

~~~
mustacheemperor
Sure, but that doesn't make it an invalid criticism of Tesla's design choices.
Plus, every component in the Model 3 is far more centered around budgetary
concerns and will simply be driven by far more people, so this problem is
entirely likely to be worse on the 3 than previous vehicles. Any other car at
this price point (or really most any other car) would have some physical key,
and it's not automatically a reason to hail the car as visionary design.

~~~
greglindahl
I've gotten non-Tesla rental cars that didn't have a physical key, so there's
that.

~~~
jonknee
What did they give you to start the car?

~~~
mustacheemperor
Lots of car fobs are just wireless transponders to authorize the remote start
now, it's how those hacks to steal a BMW with a laptop work. But those fobs
usually still have a real key inside.

------
serf
So, can one of you Steve Jobs clone-prophets hurry up and advocate for some
nice big rotary knobs and flip switches and try to get us over this 'no-
physical' fetish?

Just wait a few years until everything is touch-screen'd, and then reveal it
like it's a new idea.

"Wow! That knob has ten indents! One for every level of setting! I don't even
need to look at the screen!"

Sell it as a UX feature, like everyone is selling this trend.

------
alex_young
A 16 * 9 display is not even a suggestion of anything more than economy in
action. That is the format flat panels are made in for an obvious reason.

~~~
pwinnski
Except that this isn't a standard 1920x1080. As the article mentions, it's
slightly taller than that, leaving 1920x1080 after space is reserved along the
bottom for the control strip. So it's a custom panel pretending a standard
virtual height.

~~~
Wehrdo
16:10 is probably the second-most common aspect ratio after 16:9, so not
really what I'd consider "custom".

------
rkagerer
This is exactly the sort of broken design thinking that will make cars unsafe.

~~~
rkagerer
In one of the talks at Google I/O last year a VP from Audi (or Volvo?) spoke
in a thick and lofty German accent about how "ve haf completely oferhauled ze
driver exzperienze". He played a sexy video clip showcasing their new Android
infotainment system (something like
[https://youtu.be/h_7_fKJ0PNs](https://youtu.be/h_7_fKJ0PNs)), and the first
thing I noticed is how they'd taken away my traditional temperature knobs and
replaced them with digital touchscreen ones. They looked _just like physical
ones_ , and were in the _exact same place_ you would expect
([https://9to5google.com/2017/05/15/android-cars-
audi/](https://9to5google.com/2017/05/15/android-cars-audi/)).

So, I've gained absolutely nothing, and now I have to take my eyes off the
road and look down at the stupid console just to change the temperature.

 __TLDR: Tacticle feedback is a Good Thing(tm) and designers should cultivate
- not fight - muscle memory. __

------
stcredzero
_I don’t think Tesla did this simply to be edgy, dangerous or different. They
did this to prepare people for a world without drivers._

 _This car was designed for the riding experience_

One thing I've seen in certain very successful companies, is a pattern of
proactively preparing the customers for the future. Apple, Amazon, and Tesla
all exhibit this pattern. Microsoft has also tried to do this, though I'd say
that Microsoft has erred on the side of annoying people too much while doing
so. Come to think of it, Apple has erred on this side as well lately.

Most companies just react to customer demands. Certain companies actually have
the foresight to lead what the customer will demand in the future.

------
nv-vn
I think this is a really interesting move from Tesla and it is making a good
commentary on what the automotive industry has become. There's a lot of
clutter in the modern car's UI, and I do agree that it could be slimmed down a
lot. But the thing here is that Tesla is sacrificing usability for simplicity
-- having to go through menus on the touch screen to access commonly used
features like windshield wiper speed, relying on the screen in the middle to
know whether your turn signal is on, or having to browse through menus to
enable your parking break. You can't even see the speed your car is going on
the dashboard, and instead have to move your focus to the thing that's
basically an iPad mounted in the center console. The thing is, these are
solved issues. Tesla could use a HUD to show even a simplified dashboard view.
They could integrate the screen into the entire front seat/dashboard
location/center console rather than just a rectangle in the middle. The only
real answer to what they are doing is given in the article: they are trying to
ditch the normal driving experience because they believe in the self-driving
car as their end goal. This car is almost more of a commentary on this idea
than a product (though I'm sure sales will be through the roof because Tesla
has built itself as a trendy company the same way Apple did). The Model 3 is
not for somebody who enjoys driving their car 24/7, and until self-driving
cars become the norm it pretty much just exists to be edgy.

~~~
vvanders
> You can't even see the speed your car is going on the dashboard, and instead
> have to move your focus to the thing that's basically an iPad mounted in the
> center console.

Center dashes have been a thing for a long time, my Saturn Ion had one and
once I adjusted to it I preferred it since it was along the same axis as my
side mirrors as opposed to having to look down.

------
jordache
this is a pretty weak analysis. His core notion that because the central UI is
a 16:9 horizontal aspect ratio that differs from the model S, then it MUST be
a passenger oriented design perspective as opposed to a driver specific one.

Well the same can be said that a horizontally oriented UI experience reduces
the need for your FOV from looking further down and thus decrease time spend
peering away from the windshield.

Design is so subjective. There are so many ways to interpret.. These articles
proclaiming X instead of Y is hardly convincing at all.

~~~
jonknee
> His core notion that because the central UI is a 16:9 horizontal aspect
> ratio that differs from the model S, then it MUST be a passenger oriented
> design perspective as opposed to a driver specific one.

Well, that and the fact the Model 3 gives the driver almost no controls.

------
stevep98
I’m not sure if the model 3 has any voice-control, but a decent voice system
might be a good way to augment the touch screen for some tasks like ‘wipers
faster’, for example.

The voice control in the model is ok - it’s good at recognition, but limited
in function.

They can at least enable this type of function later with software updates.
This is a key differentiator with other auto makers, who rarely issue software
updates after the car has shipped, and if they do, never include new features,
and often charge you for things like map updates.

