After facing criticism over the unconventional yoke steering setup in its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, Tesla is finally rolling out a revamped design aimed at ironing out the quirks. Owners are already starting to receive the overhauled yoke steering wheels, and first impressions seem quite positive.
Among the most welcomed changes is the addition of a proper center horn pad—a glaring omission from the original yoke that forced drivers to awkwardly hit capacitive sensors on the wheel’s grips to honk. Tesla has smartly relocated the camera controls to free up real estate for the more ergonomic physical horn button.
Build quality has also been a key focus area, with early recipients praising the new yoke’s more premium, stitched leather wrapping and overall enhanced fit and finish compared to the plasticky original units. The seemingly simple changes make a world of difference in elevating the steering experience to appropriate luxury car levels.
Improvements extend to the yoke’s integrated turn signal controls as well. While hardly revolutionary, the updated button design offers a more satisfying tactile “click” when engaged, addressing complaints about the previous mushy, unresponsive stalks that frustrated many owners.
Of course, the lozenge-shaped yoke itself remains a polarizing design exercise, but at least Tesla seems to have addressed the most egregious usability pitfalls from a hardware standpoint with this latest iteration. One particularly lucky owner even got to keep their old demonstrator unit as a showpiece, courtesy of an accommodating service technician.
As yoke retrofits make their way to more owners in the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see if the dramatic steering makeover has a meaningful impact on perceptions of Tesla’s unorthodox in-cabin controls.