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Tesla’s newly designed Model S will automatically shift between park, reverse, and drive, eliminating the PRNDL

RastaMentality

RastaMentality

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,129
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Tesla's redesigned Model S and Model X will have a very unconventional and possibly controversial feature: automatic shifting between park, reverse, neutral, and drive (or PRND). There will be an option to change drive modes on the touchscreen, but CEO Elon Musk made the case for automatic switching on Twitter late Wednesday night.

"Car guesses drive direction based on what obstacles it sees, context & nav map," Musk tweeted. "After you drive without using a PRND stalk/stick for a few days, it gets very annoying to go back & use a shifter! You can override on touchscreen."

An internal Tesla document obtained by Electrek expands, slightly, on what Musk means by "guesses":
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The vehicle uses its Autopilot sensors to intelligently and automatically determine intended drive modes and select them. For example, if the front of Model S/X is facing a garage wall, it will detect this and automatically shift to Reverse once the driver presses the brake pedal. This eliminates one more step for the drivers of the world's most intelligent production cars.

The general idea behind the decision fits into the larger Silicon Valley ethos that Tesla subscribes to, though, of "eliminating friction." The consequences of trying to automate PRND won't be clear until people start taking deliveries of these new cars, which is supposed to happen in a matter of weeks.

AUTOMAKERS HAVE TINKERED WITH PRND SELECTORS FOR YEARS, TO SOMETIMES DEADLY EFFECT
Automakers have tinkered with the look and location of drive mode selectors for years, enabled by the rise of automatic transmissions and the ability to change modes via software (also known as "shift by wire"). Many companies have ditched the classic steering wheel stalk in favor of a knob on the dashboard or the center console or separate physical buttons.

Others have tried to mix hardware and software, but it has not gone well. Fiat Chrysler had to recall more than 1 million Jeeps, Dodges, and Chryslers because the interface — which involved a lever and a button that always returned to center position — caused enough confusion that some people were run over by their own vehicles. In fact, this "rollaway" problem is likely how actor Anton Yelchin died.
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www.theverge.com

Tesla’s new Model S will automatically shift between park, reverse, and drive

The new steering wheel isn’t the only feature stirring up a safety debate
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com

reclaimerzzzzz said:
There will be manual options. Quote below is direct from the Electrek article.

That's quite a change in the way to operate a car, but Tesla is making sure that people are not too confused about it by adding force touch controls for "Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive" drive modes at the base of the phone charger on the center console

Image of the phone charger/center console, not sure where said force touch controls are or are supposed to be.
MS-Interior-Grid-B-Desktop
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Last edited:
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,475
Which one do you use going through the car wash?
NVM. Thread title is a little misleading. There is still a Neutral setting....but it's going to know to automatically select it for you when you pull up to the car wash? I'm still a little confused.
 
Deimos

Deimos

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,770
Yeah, what I want from a car is for it to "guess" that it suddenly needs to go in reverse on the highway. Thanks Musk.
 
NeonCarbon

NeonCarbon

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,461
Not sure how it works in practice...but might help cut down on the classic OAP accidents where they double down on the wrong direction or pedal.
 
InfinityDOK

InfinityDOK

Member
Dec 3, 2018
2,590
Tesla on their never ending quest to have the best tech and charging infrastructure, but kill physical interaction with the actual car. Sure when cars are fully robotic then yeah a gear shift isn't needed but I feel like self driving is far away still.
 
Trisc

Trisc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,489
This only has to fail once, and you're suddenly in a hole several thousand dollars deep.
 
TheWooniestWoona

TheWooniestWoona

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,802
I've never once wished that Drive, Reverse, and Neutral were automatic. I think this causes more problems than it solves.
 
Perzeval

Perzeval

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,560
Sweden
If they can design and land an unmanned rocket I'm sure they can design a car without user input. Wait.. 🤔
 
DBT85

DBT85

Resident Thread Mechanic
Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,283
I didn't mean to run over that lady and her dog, I thought it was in R, but it was in D. my bad.
 
reclaimerzzzzz

reclaimerzzzzz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,136
There will be manual options. Quote below is direct from the Electrek article.
That's quite a change in the way to operate a car, but Tesla is making sure that people are not too confused about it by adding force touch controls for "Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive" drive modes at the base of the phone charger on the center console.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Image of the phone charger/center console, not sure where said force touch controls are or are supposed to be.
MS-Interior-Grid-B-Desktop
 
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