√Tesla does U-turn on aircraft-style steering wheel

A conventional steering wheel has returned to the Tesla Model S and Model X – in Australia and overseas – following criticism of the aircraft-style half-wheel ‘yoke’ introduced two years ago.

Tesla has reintroduced a round steering wheel to its Model S sedan and Model X SUV electric cars – including for Australia – backtracking on its controversial move to an aircraft-style half-wheel ‘yoke’ control two years ago.

The ‘yoke’ system – an aircraft term for their main steering controls – attracted criticism from owners for being awkward to use at low speeds, and lacking traditional indicator, windscreen wiper and gear selector stalks.

Now Tesla has re-introduced a traditional round steering wheel to its two flagship electric cars, fitted as the standard choice for new orders.

However, the ‘yoke’ steering controller is still available as a no-cost option.

The move represents a backflip from comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in July 2021, ruling out any plans to re-introduce a conventional steering wheel to the vehicles.

The change has been applied to all of Tesla’s websites globally, – including Australia, even though there remains no date for when local deliveries of the updated Model S and Model X are yet to begin, two years on from their US launches.

Owners in the US of existing Model S and Model X vehicles fitted with the yoke will be able to order and retrofit a traditional steering wheel for $US700, via the Tesla website.

While the just-introduced steering wheel’s shape is more conventional than the yoke, it continues to lack stalks for the indicators, windscreen wipers, and gear selector.

Instead, these systems are controlled via touch buttons on the spokes of the steering wheel – or, for the gear selector, a choice of buttons on the centre touchscreen, or clever software that uses the car’s sensors to automatically select ‘Drive’ or ‘Reverse’.

Curiously, the return of a traditional steering wheel to the Model S and Model X appears to have been on the cards since the yoke was introduced in January 2021 – after photos of a conventional wheel were found hidden on Tesla’s website.

However, the conventional steering wheel has only just now come to light – the same images (uncovered at the time by changing four characters in the URL link of Tesla’s website) are now publicly accessible on Tesla’s order page.

In early 2022 Tesla fan and decoder Green (@atgreentheonly on Twitter) uncovered manufacturer service software referencing an option to swap a vehicle between “Yoke” and “Round” steering wheel designs.

A similar design to Tesla’s aircraft-inspired steering control is bound for Australian showrooms in the Lexus RZ450e luxury electric SUV (pictured above), as an extra-cost option alternative to a circular steering wheel.

While Tesla’s yoke is connected to a conventional steering system – requiring multiple turns from lock to lock – Lexus uses steer-by-wire technology with an electronic connection between the driver and the front wheels.

This allows the Lexus system to vary the amount of steering lock based on the vehicle’s speed – enabling easy parking at low speeds, without the need for hand-over-hand motions, while delivering precise responses at higher speeds.

It was thought at the time of the Tesla system’s unveiling the ‘yoke’ may not meet Australian motor vehicle regulations – however confirmation of the Lexus design for Australia dispelled this theory.

Tesla’s Australian website notes the images and specifications it shows apply to US models – so it is unclear if the yoke will be available on future examples of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV locally, or if Tesla will instead offer the conventional steering wheel as the sole choice.

Alongside the return of the traditional steering wheel, Tesla fans have noted other mild changes to the Model S and Model X: red brake calipers have returned to tri-motor Plaid models.

Meanwhile, the ‘T’ emblems on the rear of both vehicles have been deleted, leaving only the ‘TESLA’ script below.

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