6 Comments For This Post

1. The_Heraclitus Says:
   November 11th, 2011 at 11:09 am

   Those Tesla's are very cool. Not viable as a product but, very neat toys.

2. Dave Fairhurst Says:
   November 13th, 2011 at 1:32 am

   Why would you put a power sapping device like that screen on an electric vehicle?
   The last thing an electric car needs to to waste power on emulating controls that would be better realised as a physical interface. One that takes no power when not in is and is easier and safer to use when driving because of its natural tactility.

   Technology should be used appropriately. Lets get away from this style of substance and technology for the sake of it mentality, because it just lets technology down.

   Isn't the idea of the Tesla about efficiency and the environment (to quote their own website)? In fact you see the over use of power sapping equipment on all these so called 'green' cars these days. I guess it's all part of the seen to be green hypocrisy that is prevalent in the target market.

   Interfaces like this are just an unnecessary distraction at best and are simply inferior to physical controls at worst. God help us if this sort of thing becomes commonplace. If you want to fiddle with your iPad then please do it someplace else. Cars are not toys!

3. Nick Prudent Says:
   November 16th, 2011 at 12:34 am

   @The_Heraclitus 90p — Tesla Roadsters are extremely reliable. They have a fraction of the parts of gasoline vehicles and have been driven by owners in Iceland, Japan, Germany, the Swiss Alps, Australian desert and Texas/Vegas deserts. No engine fires, no fatalities. The famous Top Gear break down was scripted.

   @Dave Fairhurst — The power requirements for this touch screen is comparable to an iPad, which has almost no impact on the Model-S 42 kW-h battery pack. So yes, this is very efficient because a single unit replaces multiple controllers in other cars + the possibility of running additional apps.

4. Kem Says:
   November 18th, 2011 at 5:04 pm

   @Dave Fairhurst — There is efficiency when you increase productivity. The touchscreen does more than "Vehicle Controls"
   You would need so many other additional gadgets and add ons in your car to achieve the same functionality of that touchscreen. So if anything, the screen consolidates all these utilities, of media, controls, entertainment, communication, e.t.c all into one device. I think @Nick said it well. Its like an IPad in todays world. A software platform allows you to do wayyyy more than being stuck with physical hardware buttons that can never change.

5. Stewart Says:
   November 18th, 2011 at 6:03 pm

   Dave, dude chill. The battery pack is so large that tesla said it would run the onboard computer ( and screen obviously! ) for 6 months on a single charge! I think you are overlooking the colossal energy required to move a vehicle. A screen that size has almost negligible impact on range, and what you gain from having it far exceeds that 100 or so metres that you lose! 🙂

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