A UX designer walks into a Tesla Bar (2021)(jenson.org)
jenson.org
A UX designer walks into a Tesla Bar (2021)
https://jenson.org/tesla/
97 comments
Agreed. I was (barely) willing to tolerate a touchscreen interface for my car, as long as the UI didn't change ever. Without tactile feedback, I need the buttons to be in the exact same place every time so that I can develop the muscle memory to hit them without looking. When Tesla changed the UI layout as part of a software update, they eliminated themselves as a manufacturer I'm going to buy from. As the author of the linked piece says, "move fast and break things" is simply not acceptable for the controls of machinery that can easily kill someone if you make mistakes.
This is why my next car won’t be a Tesla (after driving one for the past 8 years). It’s sad, they get so many things right but they are dangerously irresponsible.
Yep, agreed. I'm on my third Tesla, and probably my last. The cars are still very structurally safe, but operationally they're getting more dangerous because of changes like the UI, FSD feeling actually worse than it used to (I had it on my Model 3, but I couldn't transfer it to my Model X, and it wasn't good enough on the 3, why would it be good enough on the X which actually had FEWER sensors?) and the absolute insistence than vision-only is safer than vision plus radar and ultrasonic. I understand that the radar they had was limited, but you improve the radar, don't drop it entirely.
Also, I haven't been an Elon fan since 2018 or so, but I was still able to look past his shenanigans when I bought this a few years ago, but he's gone straight over the cliff since then and keep falling, so this is almost definitely the last one I'm getting.
Also, I haven't been an Elon fan since 2018 or so, but I was still able to look past his shenanigans when I bought this a few years ago, but he's gone straight over the cliff since then and keep falling, so this is almost definitely the last one I'm getting.
You have a different reaction than most Tesla owners [1].
[1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-has-the-most-loyal-b...
[1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-has-the-most-loyal-b...
Tesla owners that bought a car last year is a very different number than all Tesla owners.
Manufacturing cars with “cut everything possible and add stuff back in if it doesn’t work” mentality seems risky
Brought to you by the folks who took out a critical piece of the break and shipped it by accident
Brought to you by the folks who took out a critical piece of the break and shipped it by accident
It continues to boggle my mind that this behavior of unpredictably changing controls on a dangerous piece of equipment is accepted. Does anyone wish that the manufacturer could unexpectedly change the controls and safety features of their table saw, hunting rifle, or home fuse box? Of course not, that would be stupid and dangerous. But somehow Tesla's marketing has convinced a lot of people that it's fine or even a bonus when it happens with their vehicle.
It's not an idle worry either, many people have talked about the dangerous episodes they've had driving when basic controls were suddenly hidden from them. I've personally experienced it as well, riding with a relative in their Tesla. It started raining on the freeway, the auto wipers weren't turning on, and neither of us could quickly find the manual controls while hurtling down the freeway because they had moved since the car owner had last used them.
It's not an idle worry either, many people have talked about the dangerous episodes they've had driving when basic controls were suddenly hidden from them. I've personally experienced it as well, riding with a relative in their Tesla. It started raining on the freeway, the auto wipers weren't turning on, and neither of us could quickly find the manual controls while hurtling down the freeway because they had moved since the car owner had last used them.
> Some comments dismiss this author as a new driver with a learning curve
Which is a faulty way to think about it to begin with because good UX patterns should aim to be as idiot-proof as possible, especially for a CAR of all things. The KISS principle should apply here.
I've had my '23 Model Y for almost a year now and I still find the UX very severely lacking. For example if you want to change the speedometer display from kmh to mph - for crossing the Canada/US border - it's located in a weird part of the "Display" menu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbqibzYjkxE
Which is a faulty way to think about it to begin with because good UX patterns should aim to be as idiot-proof as possible, especially for a CAR of all things. The KISS principle should apply here.
I've had my '23 Model Y for almost a year now and I still find the UX very severely lacking. For example if you want to change the speedometer display from kmh to mph - for crossing the Canada/US border - it's located in a weird part of the "Display" menu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbqibzYjkxE
[deleted]
I really like the 1+1=3 cognitive load analogy on the cost of adding a "single" click to something. One of the most aggravating things in the last 15 years is a seemingly industry wide decision to "declutter" menus by burying even very simple, common actions 4-5 menus deep, often with icons that have no discernible clear meaning until you click around for a while and figure it out.
Why? Seriously, why?
Why? Seriously, why?
A recent favourite of mine was trying to find the odometer reading on my humble Skoda - couldn't find it on any screen, nothing helpful in manual. I eventually realised that the odometer and the speed setting for the cruise control share the same area on the screen so if the cruise control is turned on then you can't see the odometer.
Because "modern" designers are often degenerates who have zero fucking clues about ergonomics. Their ideal design is an empty screen with a single light gray element on white background.
No, they are not. They are just wrong people hired for the jobs by ignorant management which has no idea how diverse can be design tasks. It’s like blaming React developers working on some Jira tickets without a full picture, which is not a website but a satellite RTOS. An experienced generalist would understand the challenge and may refuse to do it if they don’t have the knowledge, but most people would simply incorrectly assume that they can do it. Management on the other side should have done better.
What I've described is bad in either case, be it Tesla, Web Page or desktop app.
lol what makes them degenerates
I don’t agree with it, but I can take a guess as to why - they are putting the cart before the horse - cars truly aren’t self-driven enough to take our attention away from the road. If they were, we’d have the time to tinker deep into menus or whatever.
As a driver I really want tactile feedback on my controls - even clear buttons on a screen require a half-second glance off the road which in bad weather is not a good idea. Needless to say, all forms of self-drive features give up in inclement weather.
As a driver I really want tactile feedback on my controls - even clear buttons on a screen require a half-second glance off the road which in bad weather is not a good idea. Needless to say, all forms of self-drive features give up in inclement weather.
They want to please everyone. Basically, what ends up happening is that new features get added but the company doesn't want to choose which buttons are more important than others. There is no one-size-fits all solution: every option makes somebody else's workflow worse. The most "neutral" and "logical" solution is to construct an ontology of button types and then materialize that in the form of nested menus. Hurts everyone the same.
I think this is a problem at the product-management level, where they cannot decide which user persona they want to prioritize. Could also be financially related, and other users complain when the company picks a side.
I think this is a problem at the product-management level, where they cannot decide which user persona they want to prioritize. Could also be financially related, and other users complain when the company picks a side.
The only positive takeaway is that it got so bad that we'll inevitably swing back to the older, better state of things.
Tesla has the worst interface I’ve used in a car (it gets -1000 points for making the driver futz and swipe dangerously on a touch screen to angle the air vent), and it seems to keep getting worse - but the best driving fundamentals I’ve used in a car.
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.
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.
We test drove a Model Y in May. There were a lot of UI nits that annoyed me, but the thing that really stood out was the blind spot warning placement. Every other vehicle I've ever driven puts the visual indicator on the mirror somewhere. After all, you're looking in the mirror (or in that vicinity) when you need to know whether someone is in your blind spot. Tesla sticks it in the center console - so you have to completely swivel your head to see it. Very strange.
I deal with many cars on a daily basis and, for me, almost all the UX have become bewildering, especially in the last four or five model years.
One particularly vexing thing: the splitting of vehicle settings between the instrument cluster and center stack displays. At least Tesla puts it all on one screen. Audi, for example, has it spread across three screens.
One particularly vexing thing: the splitting of vehicle settings between the instrument cluster and center stack displays. At least Tesla puts it all on one screen. Audi, for example, has it spread across three screens.
Yeah, I just learned Mercedes puts several settings on a "Service" instrument cluster mode in my 2024 vehicle. I wonder if it's common with german car brands, or have you seen it also in Japanese, Korean, or American brands? Overall the Mercedes UI stuff does a fine job starting CarPlay and showing a backup camera, but the settings menus are confusingly hard to navigate.
MB has had several settings available only in the cluster menus for a few years. Things such as door auto-lock on/off; daytime running lights (which, bizarrely can only be set on or off when the engine is turned off); easy-entry seat adjust and a few others. I don't know why they don't put these on the center screen menus—the slow and annoying animated carousel-style menus—along with all the other settings. These may be a holdover from the days and/or when they had no center screen menus or even a center screen at all but I think they can retire the practice now.
“Good engineering bundled together with bad opinions” is such a succinct summary of most Musk properties.
how can you use the term "good engineering" when that same company sells cars with video cameras instead of mirrors and turn signals mounted on a rotating steering wheel?
I will call it what it is - techbro delusion. Silicon Valley deluded itself into thinking that it alone knows best and that more tech alone is the solution to all our problems.
Tesla's design choices are the perfect example of this culture permeating into a high-stakes world where real people can die.
I will call it what it is - techbro delusion. Silicon Valley deluded itself into thinking that it alone knows best and that more tech alone is the solution to all our problems.
Tesla's design choices are the perfect example of this culture permeating into a high-stakes world where real people can die.
Cameras instead of mirrors has a reason: it reduces the aerodynamic drag. Buttons instead of stalks is stupid.
Counterpoint: Tesla has the best interface I've ever used in a car.
I've used CarPlay and Android Auto in previous vehicles, the Tesla iPad experience is _vastly_ superior. Mapping, defaults, interactions, nothing is better in the phone apps.
I've used CarPlay and Android Auto in previous vehicles, the Tesla iPad experience is _vastly_ superior. Mapping, defaults, interactions, nothing is better in the phone apps.
I drive a Tesla S and a Tesla Model Y a few months out of the year, and both cars lag like 200ms on the first few keypresses when typing into the map search input, and swiping around the map or moving the media player overlay drawer up or down drops framerates down to 15fps or lower, which to me puts it on par with Android tablets in 2013. According to my Tesla app, the Y seems to be running the latest software from 2024, and the S is on 2022 software. Maybe they dropped support?
> I've used CarPlay and Android Auto in previous vehicles, the Tesla iPad experience is _vastly_ superior. Mapping, defaults, interactions, nothing is better in the phone apps.
LOL. No. Just no. And I'm on my third (and likely the last) Tesla.
Tesla's navigation is just crap. It doesn't work offline, its routing decisions are sometimes are incorrect, it's difficult to use, etc.
LOL. No. Just no. And I'm on my third (and likely the last) Tesla.
Tesla's navigation is just crap. It doesn't work offline, its routing decisions are sometimes are incorrect, it's difficult to use, etc.
Tesla's navigation is based on Google Maps. It's very good. It -does- work offline, and it's trivially easy to use. The voice instructions are clear, the large screen and context-sensitive portion in the binnacle are great. I love that you can navigate home with a downswipe on the "navigate" button. It's effortless.
> It -does- work offline, and it's trivially easy to use
It doesn't. It can't show the map tiles, and its offline address entry can't always resolve the address.
> The voice instructions are clear, the large screen and context-sensitive portion in the binnacle are great.
Yes, Mr Musk. They sure are. I didn't even _had_ to use voice commands with any of my previous cars. Because why would I? It's just easier to use the controls.
It doesn't. It can't show the map tiles, and its offline address entry can't always resolve the address.
> The voice instructions are clear, the large screen and context-sensitive portion in the binnacle are great.
Yes, Mr Musk. They sure are. I didn't even _had_ to use voice commands with any of my previous cars. Because why would I? It's just easier to use the controls.
I plain hate how digital modern cars are.
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.
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.
I wonder if in a couple of years there will be a lot of old car conversion businesses around. Especially for the most common cars with the whole supply chain of ready made parts. The only real requirement from an old car I can immediately think of is for the car body to be fully galvanized. It would probably be best for smaller cars as the battery cost and electric drive train utility would be the biggest.
But eventually maybe my 2009 Renault Laguna could also be converted :P
But eventually maybe my 2009 Renault Laguna could also be converted :P
I don't think so. Such changes would require full full certification in Europe, e.g.
Between the cost of of batteries, power trains, etc it's just cheaper to buy a brand new car imho.
Between the cost of of batteries, power trains, etc it's just cheaper to buy a brand new car imho.
Here's a vintage goal though the maintenance costs will be large...
https://x.com/CarManToday/status/1822163384340521085?t=1aqVH...
https://x.com/CarManToday/status/1822163384340521085?t=1aqVH...
I'll throw another anecdote into the rapidly filling bucket: A buddy of mine gave me a ride in his Tesla. When we arrived, I reached for the door handle and opened the door - a natural, smooth motion, at the end of which my hand found a handle that I could pull.
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.
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 had a Tesla for a couple of years and then sold it.
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'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.
Funny to read because Musk famously said "Any product that needs a manual to work is broken." It's a mantra that has guided my work in UX and my design thinking overall. It was even a quote I had on my personal website many years ago, back when Musk had credibility.
He also said to remove things until it breaks. That doesn’t work for ux imho since “well it technically still works” isn’t going to lead to a great experience.
“…and then add back the last piece.” Is the rest of the quote. This points to a lack of QA or dogfooding in Tesla, not an issue with that strategy.
The problem is the line to breakage. “Technically still works” doesn’t lead to adding back. It hasn’t broken yet.
In ux technically still works is a very low bar.
In ux technically still works is a very low bar.
> This points to a lack of QA or dogfooding in Tesla
Like when they get new third party firmware that takes 36 hours to run the test suite, so they just flash a car with it, and "take it out for a quick spin", much to the third parties consternation.
Like when they get new third party firmware that takes 36 hours to run the test suite, so they just flash a car with it, and "take it out for a quick spin", much to the third parties consternation.
Yeah, fairly sure that came from Jobs or someone well before Musk.
> The manual for WordStar, the most popular word-processing program, is 400 pages thick. To write a novel, you have to read a novel – one that reads like a mystery to most people. They’re not going to learn slash q-z any more than they’re going to learn Morse code. That is what Macintosh is all about.
> The manual for WordStar, the most popular word-processing program, is 400 pages thick. To write a novel, you have to read a novel – one that reads like a mystery to most people. They’re not going to learn slash q-z any more than they’re going to learn Morse code. That is what Macintosh is all about.
I did a quick search and couldn't find any evidence that confirms the quote came from Musk. Its just one of those quotes that, whether or not he really said it, has been attributed to him. Seems like this sort of thing happens to quotes by famous people quite a bit.
> They’re not going to learn slash q-z any more than they’re going to learn Morse code. That is what Macintosh is all about.
(It didn’t last; since MacOS X or possibly before macOS has supported a decent set of emacs-y keystrokes as part of the UI)
(It didn’t last; since MacOS X or possibly before macOS has supported a decent set of emacs-y keystrokes as part of the UI)
It's indeed getting worse and worse driving cars.
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.
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.
> Occasionally it just didn't work
So it's basically not CarPlay itself, but its implementation?
So it's basically not CarPlay itself, but its implementation?
Just like Bluetooth. As a user, you don't care whether it's the protocol or the implementation, you just cross fingers and hope it works.
I guess somebody has to defend Tesla's UX so I'll do it. Apart from the lack of physical controls, and the aggressive pace of changes I find it quite intuitive. Better designed than most software.
edit: I'm not saying it's flawless, but the alternatives are even worse. On balance, I like it.
edit: I'm not saying it's flawless, but the alternatives are even worse. On balance, I like it.
> Apart from the lack of physical controls, and the aggressive pace of changes I find it quite intuitive.
Ok, but those are huge issues. You can't just wave those away. It's like that old joke about "other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?".
Ok, but those are huge issues. You can't just wave those away. It's like that old joke about "other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?".
[deleted]
This is why physical buttons are generally superior. Yes, Teslas look cleaner because there aren't buttons, but the tradeoff is that the learning curve is steeper.
and dangerous. The important part is the danger posed by the lack of physical buttons, not the learning curve.
What I don't understand is how society at large is so bad at "professional" UX. How did we get to this point, the constant dumbing-down of user interfaces that results in a more complicated and confusing product. Who are these UIs working for?
I see a lot of these posts about how Tesla UI (and touchscreens in cars in general) are unsafe and cause accidents. Intuitively it makes sense, but I haven't actually seen any evidence that Teslas or other touchscreen-heavy cars are actually involved in more accidents per mile. Would be curious if there's any studios on this to back up these claims, or is everyone just making intuitively true claims without evidence?
AS a UX professional myself, I find the tesla UI changes incredibly annoying and detrimental to functionality. They reek of random "redesign" with no thought of function. The buttons in the car controls are greatly superior to the tiny icons.
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.
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 will never own a vehicle that doesn't have common/critical functions on physical buttons - exactly because of crap like this. We aren't incentivized to leave well enough alone - things have to constantly be "improved" and then you end up with dangerous experiences like this.
Idk about Tesla, but for many manufacturers, the cost of incorporating physical buttons and the wires, mounting holes, switches, and buttons actually significantly reduces the margin they make on each car.
Profits on low margin models can be as low as a couple hundred dollars. Obviously some are more like 10-20 percent over build costs, but in general the margins are low and an extra 20-30 dollars of manufacturing cost really matters if they can’t pass that along to the buyer.
Not that that makes an excuse for making an unsafe and crappy product, but it helps to explain the situation.
As for myself, I would vastly prefer a car with a small non-touch enabled MFD and a regular analog dash with knobs and switches over any kind of touchscreen. Problem is that is a lot more expensive than a tablet that runs everything.
Touchscreens as a primary interface is the mark of cheap, low quality, serf grade engineering in the modern age.
Profits on low margin models can be as low as a couple hundred dollars. Obviously some are more like 10-20 percent over build costs, but in general the margins are low and an extra 20-30 dollars of manufacturing cost really matters if they can’t pass that along to the buyer.
Not that that makes an excuse for making an unsafe and crappy product, but it helps to explain the situation.
As for myself, I would vastly prefer a car with a small non-touch enabled MFD and a regular analog dash with knobs and switches over any kind of touchscreen. Problem is that is a lot more expensive than a tablet that runs everything.
Touchscreens as a primary interface is the mark of cheap, low quality, serf grade engineering in the modern age.
Funny that at least one value focused automative company doesn't seem to find physical controls an economic burden:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyundai-promises-to-keep-butto...
https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyundai-promises-to-keep-butto...
They make some pretty excellent vehicles, from a utility standpoint.
So essentially, Musk saying, "I'm not content with the profit per vehicle that other manufacturers have."
The lack of physical controls, the nicks on the wheels, and secret mantras to open rear doors in case of power failure is what currently keeping me from buying a tesla.
They used to be fine cars, but they've been surpassed now by the big brands. Hyundai is putting out the top tier EVs now, and most of the other brands have good-to-great options as well. Tesla isn't really worth considering when shopping for a new EV.
I honestly believe the ux mistakes of Tesla are more the reason for the consistent -50% yoy earnings drops than anything to do with musk directly.
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.
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.
Note that other car manufactures are just copying whatever Tesla is doing. Including these bad parts.
it was a good read. but i also note the date on it is Dec. 2021. perhaps things have changed (i have no idea). i do think it is a risky business to change your car's interface with an update!
And changed in which direction...
The post was 2021 but the pain is still true for today. Also, does anyone know how to turn off AC just for the passenger side? Even when I’m driving alone, I still have both sides on.
It would also help
If they didn’t change the layout every 6 months.
That version gave you the ability to customize the bottom bar. You can still put that same icon in the same stop if that's what you want.
She borrowed a friend's car. It's beyond ridiculous that simple functions should be that hard to find in a car that you get into for the first time.
Talk about solutions for problems that shouldn't even exist in the first place!
Talk about solutions for problems that shouldn't even exist in the first place!
The UX designer, Jenson, cites interesting concepts like 1+1=3 and cognitive load. But forgets an even more basic concept: design for the common case.
The common case is the driver being the owner. Tesla has real world data about how many times the defrost button is tapped. Their UX decision to make the bottom bar customizable is smart.
I personally choose to only put the defrost button in the bar during months of the year when I use that button frequently and remove it at other times. Keeps it easily accessible when I need it and out of the way when I don't. Elegant, functional.
It might even be the case that defrost is in the bottom bar by default and the owner of the Tesla he drove had removed it, I can't remember right now what Tesla does for newly shipped cars.
The common case is the driver being the owner. Tesla has real world data about how many times the defrost button is tapped. Their UX decision to make the bottom bar customizable is smart.
I personally choose to only put the defrost button in the bar during months of the year when I use that button frequently and remove it at other times. Keeps it easily accessible when I need it and out of the way when I don't. Elegant, functional.
It might even be the case that defrost is in the bottom bar by default and the owner of the Tesla he drove had removed it, I can't remember right now what Tesla does for newly shipped cars.
> I borrowed a friend’s Tesla 3 yesterday. About 5 minutes into the ride, the windshield started fogging up. I couldn’t find the defroster on the large control screen Teslas are so famous for.
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.
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.
Please read the article more careful.
The author compares v11 and v10 of the Tesla software.
v10 directly displays the defroster button.
v11 does hide it behind the temperature control (which is criticised).
I read the article carefully, especially the bit where they discovered after driving it that the UI had changed.
Their initial reaction was on not being able to find the button after five minutes of driving it, which is what my comment is about.
Their initial reaction was on not being able to find the button after five minutes of driving it, which is what my comment is about.
I have driven quite a few different cars, and I have never had trouble finding the button by simply scanning the actual visible controls, except in a Tesla.
(Some cars don’t gave have a defogger, in which case one will obvious never find the button. This is unlikely in a current or remotely recent production car…)
(Some cars don’t gave have a defogger, in which case one will obvious never find the button. This is unlikely in a current or remotely recent production car…)
Do you know what kinds of cars exist where you don't have to inspect the UI before you begin driving to make sure critical features haven't moved?
All of them except Tesla.
All of them except Tesla.
The defroster button is commonly a physical button labelled with a common symbol.
> I do think that the HVAC system could use permanent buttons, or at least persistent screen buttons.
Um, this is exactly what the article is about: Tesla used to do this. There used to be a persistent "defog" button right at the bottom, but now it's hidden behind the Temperature indicator, which looks like it only lets you adjust up/down.
Um, this is exactly what the article is about: Tesla used to do this. There used to be a persistent "defog" button right at the bottom, but now it's hidden behind the Temperature indicator, which looks like it only lets you adjust up/down.
> Um, this is exactly what the article is about
The article is about being unfamiliar with a car after 5 minutes. If the button was a physical button you’d still have to look for it since you are still unfamiliar with the car.
Before downvoting, ask yourself:
* “Would this article exist if the person found the button within 5 minutes?”
* “Would this article exist if the person was familiar with the car?”
The article is about being unfamiliar with a car after 5 minutes. If the button was a physical button you’d still have to look for it since you are still unfamiliar with the car.
Before downvoting, ask yourself:
* “Would this article exist if the person found the button within 5 minutes?”
* “Would this article exist if the person was familiar with the car?”
That's not the point of the article, but we'll take a corollary of your statement.
Imagine a physical button for the demister that's hidden behind a temperature display LCD that hinges down.
There's no indication that the temperature display moves or reveals anything, no affordances, other than on a statement on page 3-11-A of the vehicle manual. Would it be acceptable to be confused in that instance even after many five-minute periods?
Imagine a physical button for the demister that's hidden behind a temperature display LCD that hinges down.
There's no indication that the temperature display moves or reveals anything, no affordances, other than on a statement on page 3-11-A of the vehicle manual. Would it be acceptable to be confused in that instance even after many five-minute periods?
Of course it would be. That’s not what my comment is about.
That's also, what's article is about.
> This is one reason why hard-buttons are so effective in old-school cars. They all use these same standard icons so it’s easier for new users to scan across them and find the one you want without any training.
> This is one reason why hard-buttons are so effective in old-school cars. They all use these same standard icons so it’s easier for new users to scan across them and find the one you want without any training.
And they would've found it, because it wouldn't be hidden.
The actual meta value is the twitter UX is design to produce pilling on of a comment to drive ad sales rather than an actual conversation thus replaying a UX designer walks into an Elon designed and run Social Media Platform....meta upon meta squared
Tap climate, tap demist. It's really not that hard.
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.
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.
I would be willing to give the app bar some credit if it were limited to apps, in the sense of features that you don’t really need to use while driving. But for some reason, basic control of the car is mixed up with apps. Certain controls may or may not be that frequently used but need to be readily available, and those include defogging, wipers, forward/reverse (sigh), and enough climate control to be minimally comfortable. Give them fixed positions!
If I’m driving a rented or borrowed car, it gets dark and cold outside, oncoming traffic has bright lights, and the windshield is fogging up, I need to turn on the anti-fog mode. I do not want to have to contemplate whether it’s in a menu and whether whoever drove the car last remembered to put it on the app bar.
If I’m driving a rented or borrowed car, it gets dark and cold outside, oncoming traffic has bright lights, and the windshield is fogging up, I need to turn on the anti-fog mode. I do not want to have to contemplate whether it’s in a menu and whether whoever drove the car last remembered to put it on the app bar.
> But for some reason, basic control of the car is mixed up with apps.
The reason? So the UX can be improved over time. Like, for example, when Tesla made certain safety symbols and the speed readout larger.
Try doing that when everything is in hardware.
The reason? So the UX can be improved over time. Like, for example, when Tesla made certain safety symbols and the speed readout larger.
Try doing that when everything is in hardware.
When did I say “hardware”? While I prefer physical buttons for critical controls [0], a fixed-layout section of the touchscreen for physical controls would still be a massive improvement over the status quo. The “app bar” would be separate.
[0] The speed readout you’re mentioning is not a control. I have no problem with it being on a screen other than the fact that that screen occasionally crashes.
[0] The speed readout you’re mentioning is not a control. I have no problem with it being on a screen other than the fact that that screen occasionally crashes.
you did not read his post.
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.