Tesla has increased the price of its yoke steering wheel to now $1,000, which is a big change from the feature being standard not long ago.
When Tesla first launched the refreshed Model S and Model X, it featured a controversial new “yoke” butterfly steering wheel.
Some were worried about the actual shape of the wheel being problematic, while others were concerned about the lack of a drive stalk to choose the drive mode.
As for the former, we thought that the automaker wouldn’t risk bringing the controversial yoke steering wheel to market without a nonlinear steering curve enabled by a steer-by-wire system – especially knowing that Tesla has been developing a steer-by-wire system.
However, as Tesla started deliveries of the new Model S Plaid, we were surprised to see that the wheel had a normal 14.0:1 steering ratio, and it is proving to be impractical at lower speeds.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla was working on a progressive steering technology, but it was still a few years away.
Musk brushed off the concerns with the yoke and indicated that it would be the way forward as it offers “better visibility.”
However, Tesla quickly started to walk back the yoke steering wheel.
Earlier this year, Tesla started to offer a regular round steering wheel to new buyers and even started to offer retrofits for existing buyers for $700.
In April, Tesla went a step further and made the round steering wheel the standard option for the Model S and Model X, but both the round and yoke wheels were available at the same price.
Soon after, Tesla decided to add a $250 premium to the yoke steering wheel.
Today, in a new overnight update to its online configurator, Tesla has decided to increase the price of the yoke steering wheel for Model S and Model X to $1,000:
The reason for the price increase has not been disclosed, but it quickly went from a standard feature to a significant upcharge.
It could be related to Tesla recently slashing the price of the Model S and Model X.
The automaker could be looking to recuperate some gross margin points with the option.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
Top comment by neilw
Liked by 4 people
I would seriously like to know the percentage of buyers who opt for this. My initial guess would be “zero”, but there are probably some who still buy into the idea that it’s the greatest thing just because Elon Said So.
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