mjeds

And Elon's thought process here is that because the vehicle will be very autonomous (more so that the current Model S) and the owners/drivers will not have any interest in gauges, buttons, and do-dads.

I don't agree with it, but per the articles I posted above, that is what Elon's like of thinking is.

RXSF

I think the bigger looming issue facing the Model 3 is that people were promised a cheap electric car and they are about to find themselves without the federal/State tax credit as Tesla reaches their limit

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Not a fan either when they tout themselves as a premium brand. They seem to be going for that modern minimalist look. At this point it was smart to remove the 'Motors' from Tesla's company name. They're on the verge of no longer producing 'cars' but rather 'vehicles'.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

Pretty lame without HUD and Elon said you won't need to look at speedometer. He's too focused on autonomous driving mode but what about people who will actually drive? Order cancelled.

UDel

It looks like a interior designed in a cubicle on a tablet to mimic a smart phone or tablet and nothing else, not a good idea at all for a automobile that requires full attention and operating features should take as few steps as possible. It looks terrible.

Touchscreens in vehicles are not solving any problems, they are only making them much worse and are annoying, there is nothing wrong with buttons and switches, even a lot of them as long as they a logically laid out, many automakers are going with touchscreens simply because it is cheaper then high quality buttons and switches.

What happens if the screen gets cracked or goes out? You lose every feature in the car and it may become inoperable until that very expensive screen is fixed or replaced.

I can't stand minimalist design in car interiors, it just looks plain, bland, and cheap and all these minimalist touch screen interiors are starting to look the same. If you want a minimalist interior, go no further then a 80's or 90's Chevy Cavalier or Ford Escort or other econo crap boxes from the 80's and 90's that had almost no buttons or switches because they had no features, just very basic transportation and their interiors looked it, these minimalist interiors are mimicking that look now. The nice cars and aspirational cars had a lot of buttons and switches because they had a lot of features and luxury and I never heard actual owners complaining about the easy to use intuitive buttons and switches, just young auto reviews who think they sound smart attacking buttons as passe.

LeX2K

I don't blame you. If Tesla is going to make the 3 into basically an appliance and offers nothing to people that actually like to drive, well massive face plant Elon.

mjeds

the 3 is designed for the smart phone generation. people that don't have a clue how the technology works and just want to push a button and aim it in a direction.

LeX2K

Then I will never buy one.

mjeds

me either.

RSA_Secure

Pretty sure cost cutting is a part of this design decision. Re-configuring cars for LHD/RHD markets is much easier. Looks awful.

pman6

it's like sitting on a washing machine or dishwasher.

It's so barren, it makes bmw interiors look luxurious.

Makes you feel like a patient in a psych ward.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Elon could care less. He DOESN'T want you, me, or anyone to drive. He wants a 'vehicle' to shuttle you around. Again part of the reason Tesla dropped 'Motors' from their name. If you want a 'car' stick with the tried and true brands, if not Elon is gearing up to sell you his soon to be autonomous appliances.

mjeds

so it won't be Skynet that takes over but Tesla.

Elon Musk is driving the dumbing down of the general public, he wants people to be catered too by automation and never learn to do for themselves, all in the name of progress. There are good ideas that help make life easier, robotic vacuums and the like, but IMO one should still know how to clean if the toy isn't available.

same for driving, autonomous vehicles are a great idea that may some day help people be more productive with their time, I hate spending 2+ hours a day commuting to and from work, however IMO one should still know how to operate the vehicle themselves, I will never allow autonomous products to take over my life.

coolsaber

Hey if it moves units, and sells for a profit Shareholders happy, new customers have an autonomous vehicle who are also happy, Everyones golden. All the quirks and lack of soul amounts to zilch when your stuck with inventory of your own product *cough Cough* GS.

Honestly for what its designed for, which is mass production of autonomous electric vehicles and mass consumption of said product, maybe well see a greater uptake on electric network distributions for everywhere so range anxiety gets put to rest finally.

Sulu

Tesla still has not made any profit building and selling cars. It consistently loses money. Unless the Model S sells in huge numbers -- and assuming that Tesla can deliver on those demands -- it will continue to lose money.