Is the joke on the yoke? Watch and see
First video of driving with the Model S yoke steering wheel
If you’ve been wondering about the Tesla Yoke wheel as found on the refreshed Model S, you’re not alone. One of the first customers to take delivery of the Tesla Yoke has taken a video of what it’s like to drive the car and, well, it’s not pretty.
Yes, open-wheel racing cars use a yoke and have for years. But they also have a tiny amount of steering lock and we’re willing to bet you’ve never seen Lewis Hamilton try to navigate a parking lot in his Mercedes-AMG W12.
The Tesla Model S still has the usual five or so turns from lock to lock and you can see in this two-minute clip that the driver is having some trouble both at intersections and in parking lots.
Shuffle steering is impossible when the steering wheel doesn’t have a top. Traditional hand-over-hand steering isn’t any easier when you need to reach extra far. We haven’t even considered what the operation would be like for a driver who uses a steering knob to help cope with mobility issues (and we’re not sure Tesla considered it either).
You might also be wondering about the complete lack of stalks for controls, but Tesla has that covered. There are two buttons on the left of the wheel for the turn signals, one for the high beams, then on the right side are equally tiny buttons for the horn and wipers. Oh, and each button functions differently depending on how you push it. Sounds simple.
This dude uses the yoke in the Tesla Model S and it looks abysmal. Turning rotation is so stupid (Model S is 900° (F1 car with same “yoke-style” is 300-400°)) and the dude accidentally hits the horn on the dumb, rotating, capacitive buttons at 1:45. BAD! https://t.co/k5mrARRB0D
— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyQ) June 13, 2021
So forget about the 10 and 2 hand positions that current driver education teaches because this wheel doesn’t have those spots. It’s a really cool-looking solution to a problem that didn’t need solving: don’t reinvent the wheel.
