Tesla's surprise reveal of a yoke-shaped steering wheel for the updated Model S and Model X caught the EV world a little off guard, even if the changes inside the cabin were otherwise evolutionary. The vertical center screen was replaced with a horizontal one, and a new and smaller central screen was added for the benefit of rear-seat passengers in the Model S, with Tesla opting not to introduce individual screens into the seat backs for rear-seat passengers. The sedan also received some minor exterior upgrades below the belt line, changes that might not be noticeable unless you already own one.
The main event, however, was the option of a yoke-style steering. The wheel alternative certainly looks futuristic and may well be legal in the U.S., absent a contrary NHTSA rule, but it may not be all that practical, especially for those who have not driven a car with this setup before (we imagine that's the vast majority of drivers).

It's at this point some will be tempted to point out that plenty of race cars employ steering systems of this type, and that is true—but it ignores the actual steering ratios used in, say, Formula 1 and the amount of rotation that its drivers actually need in a typical race. Race drivers don't do much parallel parking or need to turn through regular low-speed intersections, at least not while in a race car—that's where the different ratios start to matter.

If you're familiar with F1 and have watched enough in-cockpit video feeds, you'll note that the amount of steering input required in F1 cars is actually very limited compared to a road car that you buy from a dealership. Even going around hairpins, F1 drivers typically need to turn the wheel about one third of a full rotation, permitting the drivers to keep their hands on their original positions on the handles. Regripping just isn't an option. What you certainly don't see in F1 cars are drivers making one or two complete rotations of the wheel, even when the car is spinning out of control. That's because the steering just isn't geared for that.

https://youtu.be/PcL7I1NSQDs

In the video above, observe that in order to make a right turn at a pit-lane speed, Daniel Ricciardo only needs to turn the steering wheel about 140 degrees, and does so without regripping.

Compare that to what's needed in a car that you currently own and drive to work. In order to make a right or left in traffic you need to make about one complete rotation of the steering wheel. Add a U-turn at slow speed, and you'll be looking at about one and a half rotations. Or do a three-point-turn in place, rotating the wheel from lock to lock, and you'll find that it's about two and a half to three complete rotations.

Unless Tesla has drastically altered the steering ratio, drivers will still need to spin the yoke to complete such normal driving tasks. Grabbable surfaces will be at a premium, because most drivers will instinctively reach for the top of the steering wheel to shuffle-steer... of which there is none. Even the flat bottom won't help much because it's still not where they'll expect it to be.

Of course, there is one group who might find this steering setup very natural, having been exposed only to yoke-style steering: young, as-yet-unlicensed folks raised on racing games. It's also a demographic largely unlikely to be getting their first cars in the form of an all-new Tesla Model S. And even for those who do, they'll have to adjust to having to spin the yoke two and a half times from lock to lock.

James May bought a Model S 100D two years ago, and since then, the British presenter and journalist has enjoyed it a lot. But as it’s always the case with Tesla ownership, the electric sedan can be infuriating at times.

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Last year, the one and only Captain Slow listed a few things he dislikes about the Model S 100D, starting with the dodgy pop-out door handles. Other points of criticism include the car turning itself off, blaring trunk, weird font for the Model S badging on the trunk lid, and clonking rear suspension. Be that as it may, James loves the electric sedan, and he still owns it.

The latest niggle Captain Slow experienced with the Model S 100D is the 12-volt battery, which can go flat if the vehicle is left to charge for an extended period and the lithium-ion battery is fully charged. The 12-volt battery goes flat because it runs the car’s essential systems even while parked in the garage, and that presents a headache-inducing problem.

As fate would have it, James couldn’t open any of the doors, trunk, or frunk because the depleted battery powers them all. Opening the frunk proved to be a hassle in its own right because Captain Slow had to pull two emergency releases that are integrated into the front wheel arches.

Once the frunk is open, you have to remove not one, not two, but five (!!!) plastic panels to access the 12-volt battery. The final panel features very brittle clips, of which one has inevitably snapped even though James knows his way around a car. Captain Slow took an hour to dismantle the damn thing to connect the battery to a charger.

“And frankly, it’s pi**ed me off,” said James.

Considering that EVs are simpler than ICEs in every single way—which should translate into fewer ownership problems—I can’t blame poor the guy.

Tesla has set a new official record for the fastest quarter-mile time of any production car in their new Model S Plaid.

The time was set on May 11, 2021 at the Autoclub Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, about four hours south of Tesla’s Fremont factory in California. According to a source who was at the event, the Midnight Silver Model S Plaid set an official time of 9.23 seconds with a trap speed of 152.16mph (244.88km/h).

That handily beats the previous record of 9.4 seconds held by the Bugatti Chiron Sport. At a base price of $3,260,000 USD ($3,946,000 CAD), the supercar is considerably more expensive than the Model S Plaid which starts at $119,990 USD ($159,900 CAD).

The time set by the four door electric sedan is also nearly a full half-second quicker than the second fastest car on the list, the Porsche 918 Spyder.

The record lines up almost exactly with Tesla’s targeted time and speed that has been on the website since the variant was announced earlier this year.

The Plaid Model S quarter-mile time is also quicker than the time Lucid set in their Air tri-motor prototype last year. There is one important difference – Lucid’s time of 9.245 seconds was achieved in a completely stripped down version of the Air, whereas the Model S Plaid had a full interior.

To protect the identity of our source, we are unable to share any footage of the run, but Drive Tesla has seen evidence of it.

There is good news though – we should all be seeing it soon. Our source also told us that it wasn’t just Tesla employees at the track, but late-night comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno was also in attendance to film the testing session for his show, Jay Leno’s Garage.

Not only was Leno watching, he also got behind the wheel. According to our source he was able to lay down a time of 9.50 seconds, with the added weight of two passengers in the car during his run.

Even though his impressive car collection, worth an estimated $150M USD ($191M CAD), consists mainly of gas powered vehicles, Leno has become a big fan of Tesla and electric vehicles (EVs). He has interviewed Elon Musk on multiple occasions, most recently when he had the opportunity to drive the Cybertruck.

It is still unknown when the first deliveries of the Model S Plaid will begin. Production issues have delayed even the Long Range variant which is expected to ship first. This testing hopefully means it won’t be too long until we see the Model S Plaid in the hands of some lucky new owners.