The most controversial feature of the refresh Model S and Model X is the yoke steering wheel.
Not only does it have an unusual shape, but Tesla also removed the stalks and put all the controls as buttons on the face of the steering wheel.
Despite a round steering wheel being hidden in the source code of the Design Studio and pleas from fans, Tesla has yet to give buyers the option to pick between the two steering wheel types.
Now it looks like a retrofit might be coming soon. Evidence of a “steering wheel/yoke swap” was discovered by hacker @greentheonly in the Tesla Service Tools software.
A screenshot of the option shared by green shows it would require a new firmware that sets and refreshes configurations, and updates the controllers for the new wheel.
After hitting the “Run” button, a prompt appears asking you to select between the “Round” and the “Yoke” wheel.
— green (@greentheonly) February 24, 2022
Green went on to explain that while it appears as though a retrofit for a round steering wheel may be coming soon, the stalks aren’t coming back and “the annoying buttons would remain.”
Whether this comes to fruition remains to be seen, especially considering Elon Musk bluntly said “No” when asked about it last year.
Tesla has listened to some feedback and will be making at least one change to the yoke steering wheel to make it more user friendly – adding the horn back to the airbag.
Elon Musk hints at steer-by-wire yoke steering in Cybertruck, confirms it will be a ‘tech bandwagon’
