POLL: Regular Steering Wheel or Yoke?

[Newton]

Of course we will get used to the yoke, its what we do. doesn't mean ill like it.

i drove a buddies miata with a yoke style wheel years ago, and my brain just couldnt stop wanting to grab where there was no steering wheel (mostly when driving hard, where muscle memory kicked in)

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[RVAC]

I think the issue with any options you add is every additional option you add increases the number of possible combinations.

Most auto companies have spec sheets that travel with the vehicle and pick parts on a per-vehicle basis. If that's the case, then you just look at the spec sheet and pop the wheel on from the wheel stack instead of the yoke stack. I don't think this is how Tesla does things at all.

At Tesla, they set up the assembly line on Monday with the pink interior and off-road tires and spend a whole week cranking out 5000 trucks identical trucks with pink interior and off-road tires. Pile those on the delivery trucks and they hit the road. When the truck is en-route to your service center of choice, you get an email that your pink/ off-road Cybertruck is ready. People with green interiors and off-road tires might get their trucks next week.

I'm making some big assumptions here, but I know Tesla has batched deliveries this way and it makes a ton of sense.

The problem is the more options you add to the mix, the more complicated and error prone this all is.

Yes any additional SKU will add complexity no matter what it is, that is true. However it's not black & white, depending on what that SKU is it can add a little or a lot of complexity. Something that adds little complexity but has significant upside in terms of sales should be worth it.

That's probably how they do it, but I don't see the issue either way. Depending on the order mix you would be producing the pink interior with off-road tires and standard wheel for 4 days and then the pink interior with off-road tires and yoke the other 3 days.

I know... it's only one more option, the option to....

... add a midgate of course, it's the single most requested mod on this forum.
... add a 500 mile dual motor config.
... lay flat front seats for overnighting.
... add door handles back for safety.
... have the tailgate optionally open sideways so getting to the under vault storage is easier.
... add rear view mirrors for trailer hauling.
... add a steering wheel instead of the yoke.
... add the option to delete the vault cover so you can make a better camper setup.
... pontoons... Amphibian Cybertruck FTW!!
... camp kitchen... Rivian has it!
... etc etc etc.

If we're playing the add an option game, I doubt the yoke versus wheel issue would even be in the top 3.

Most of those either have niche appeal or add significant cost/complexity. Anyway we'll have to see how sales of S/X go, I would be surprised if they don't end up giving the option in a year or so.

 

[Ogre]

Most of those either have niche appeal or add significant cost/complexity. Anyway we'll have to see how sales of S/X go, I would be surprised if they don't end up giving the option in a year or so.

This is my feeling as well. By the time CT is in production this will have been sorted out.

I'm kind of struggling with how they would have an optional steering wheel. Would this be a paid option? How much would people pay for a wheel option? How many people would pay to upgrade to a steering wheel?

I put it that way because I can't see them adding complexity to the assembly process without capturing that cost somewhere.

EDIT: I think far more people would be interested in whether or not the CT has camping options and/ or lay flat seats than whether it has a wheel or a yoke. But I'm quite biased.

 

[Firetruck41]

This is my feeling as well. By the time CT is in production this will have been sorted out.

I'm kind of struggling with how they would have an optional steering wheel. Would this be a paid option? How much would people pay for a wheel option? How many people would pay to upgrade to a steering wheel?

I put it that way because I can't see them adding complexity to the assembly process without capturing that cost somewhere.

EDIT: I think far more people would be interested in whether or not the CT has camping options and/ or lay flat seats than whether it has a wheel or a yoke. But I'm quite biased.

Other manufacturers (I know, not same are Tesla...), Have options/features that can be deleted at no cost. I'm sure Tesla could do it, if they desired to, without too much trouble. Not saying they will, but they could certainly figure out how to make it happen.

 

[Ogre]

Other manufacturers (I know, not same are Tesla...), Have options/features that can be deleted at no cost. I'm sure Tesla could do it, if they desired to, without too much trouble. Not saying they will, but they could certainly figure out how to make it happen.

Other manufacturers have giant piles of options and you can theoretically pick and choose any of millions of combinations of them. Realistically, what happens is you pick the options and they point you at a car/ truck nearby that has 90% of what you want and about $3000-5000 worth of crap you don't want.

Honestly I vastly prefer Tesla's few/ no options myself.

 

[Art O'Connor]

Personally I do a lot of driving with my hand resting on the top of the steering wheel. I prefer a wheel for comfort factor. Really hope the yoke isn't the only option.

Also, I live in a place that gets big time snow most of the year, so FSD won't really work. :/

Love everything else about the CT! Gonna be a badass overland adventure rig for me!

Anyone else gonna be driving this thing in heavy snow? Cheers.

Hey! We NEVER get snow here in Reno, Nevada! Haven't seen the grass in the yard in two months, this year. Was 4 degrees this morning. Not going to melt today. This is why I have a 4WD pickup. Had to drive Daughter to work this morning at 0500 because the FWD Prius doesn't do so well.

 

[Art O'Connor]

Other manufacturers have giant piles of options and you can theoretically pick and choose any of millions of combinations of them. Realistically, what happens is you pick the options and they point you at a car/ truck nearby that has 90% of what you want and about $3000-5000 worth of crap you don't want.

Honestly I vastly prefer Tesla's few/ no options myself.

I would not agree with that. Try ordering a Tesla without a sunroof. Apparently you have not tried to order a new vehicle at a dealership lately. Try ordering a Tahoe without the third row seats.

 

[Alpine]

U updated a 2 year old thread to make that comment?

 

[alan auerbach]

I'd like to try the yoke for a few blocks and then I'll have an answer for you.

I've never seen a land vehicle that has a yoke, or a plane that doesn't. But aircraft yokes don't rotate more than 45 degrees in each direction, whereas vehicle steering wheels (at least those I've encountered) rotate more than a full circle.

I think you see the issue, and I'm sure the Tesla engineers do too. It's a matter of how they solve it.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Other manufacturers (I know, not same are Tesla...), Have options/features that can be deleted at no cost. I'm sure Tesla could do it, if they desired to, without too much trouble. Not saying they will, but they could certainly figure out how to make it happen.

At no cost? The last 2 (non Tesla) cars I bought new I wanted a feature that they bundled with a bunch of crap I didn't want and they wanted another $5K for, so I didn't get that feature and I am glad. Other companies are all about getting the very most money possible out of you and making it super painful to even buy a car. With Tesla you say what model you want, Reg, LR, or Perf, color of car, color of interior, size of wheels, FSD or not, and you are done. You can be entirely done with ordering a car in less than 5 minutes on the web. You are welcome to stick with the old way but I am done.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

I'd like to try the yoke for a few blocks and then I'll have an answer for you.

I've never seen a land vehicle that has a yoke, or a plane that doesn't. But aircraft yokes don't rotate more than 45 degrees in each direction, whereas vehicle steering wheels (at least those I've encountered) rotate more than a full circle.

I think you see the issue, and I'm sure the Tesla engineers do too. It's a matter of how they solve it.

I am not sure why we are still talking about this. Tesla has said that the Cybertruck will have 4 wheel steering, and that just cannot be done right with linkages, so they have pretty much committed to steer by wire, and thus they can use a yoke and keep the rotation to 45 degrees (or whatever) depending on the driving mode. Personally I cannot imagine a scenario where they would do otherwise.

 

[Ogre]

I would not agree with that. Try ordering a Tesla without a sunroof. Apparently you have not tried to order a new vehicle at a dealership lately. Try ordering a Tahoe without the third row seats.

First, the post you are replying to is 15 months old. Like 2 lifetimes ago in this crazy auto market.

The fact that you can’t get a Tesla without a glass roof is exactly what I mean. Tesla doesn’t have a million options on their cars. They have about 4.

While GM’s inventory might be quite limited at the moment, you can still go on their site and browse the thousands of different configurations which will eventually be available (in theory anyhow).

 

[Art O'Connor]

Doesn't Porsche use drive by wire in the current lineup? With no fail safe mechanical? I seem to remember a lot of chatter about this when Porsche brought it out, but nothing new lately.

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