This week, Elon Musk surprised the automotive world with the unexpected announcement of some significant updates to the Tesla Model S. The new top-spec Model S Plaid+ claims a 0-60 time of less than 2 seconds—which would make it the quickest-accelerating production car in history—a top speed beyond 200 mph, and more than 520 miles of range. The updates include some subtle exterior styling tweaks and one befuddling change to the interior: a U-shaped steering wheel with the top half missing.
Steering yokes and other unconventional directional controls are common in concept cars, but this is the first modern production vehicle we've seen that proposes a steering wheel that's anything other than a complete loop. It's a baffling proposition with no discernible benefit and a whole plethora of drawbacks. Imagine trying to parallel-park this thing on a busy street and grabbing a fistful of air where a conventional steering wheel should be.
And we're not the only ones confused by this boneheaded design choice. Road & Track reached out to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find out whether Tesla's half-a-steering-wheel is actually legal in the U.S. Judging by the statement we received from NHTSA, nobody really knows. "At this time, NHTSA cannot determine if the steering wheel meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards," the agency told R&T. "We will be reaching out to the automaker for more information."
While the U.S. government is still pondering the legality of Musk's hacksawed steering bracket, Road & Track's opinion is that this is dumber than a box of rocks. Every human with a driver's license is used to having a complete loop for steering duties. Re-training our brains to compensate for a 50-percent-off steering yoke shouldn't be necessary to safely operate a $70,000 luxury sedan. If this design makes it to production, people are going to make mistakes—often in stressful or dangerous moments, and likely with damaging if not deadly consequences. We love the idea of a rocket-quick electric sedan with world-beating driving range (though, like most of Elon's promises, we're not holding our breath expecting to see it any time soon). We just think it should come with a real steering wheel.
Bob Sorokanich previously served as deputy editor of Road & Track Magazine. He is based in New York City.
