Tesla Ditches Yoke Steering In Favour of Round in Futures Electric Cars

Tesla has apparently softened and now offers the option of ordering a round steering wheel instead of the controversial “Yoke” steering wheel for its Model X and Model S electric cars.

The “Yoke” had divided the Tesla fans, because the “rectangular” steering wheel is reminiscent of the “control yoke” of an airplane cockpit, both visually and in the way it is operated. Although it looks very modern, it also has disadvantages in terms of operation, after all, it is not easy to change direction when steering.

For the Tesla Model X and Tesla Model S, from the model year 2021, the “Yoke” control yoke was recently the only option when ordering new vehicles. In Europe, too, all new electric cars of the two types mentioned have only been delivered with the “control wheel” since the end of 2022.

Turn signal levers remain missing

There have been indications for some time that Tesla would again offer a choice for the two vehicle models, specifically as early as February 2022. However, it has apparently taken a long time for implementation to take place. Only recently has it been possible to optionally select a “classic” steering wheel in the web configurator when purchasing a Tesla Model S or X.

There is a catch with the return of the “normal” steering wheel as an option for the Model X and Model S: the levers for the turn signals that were still installed before the model refreshes in 2021 are not returning now. So you still have to work with the capacitive touch surfaces when it comes to setting the indicator for a lane change.

On the other hand, there is good news for customers who already own a vehicle with a “yoke” steering wheel: You can order a conversion to the “normal” steering wheel, for which Tesla currently wants to charge a price of 900 euros in Europe.