Tesla’s redesigned Model S and X turned heads when they were unveiled last week due to the device used to turn it.
The updated vehicles have brand new interiors with a rectangular yoke-style steering wheel design.
Although it has been suggested, but not yet confirmed, that Tesla will offer a conventional round wheel as an option, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has yet to determine if the yoke version meets federal safety standards before initial shipments of the vehicles at the end of February or March to customers.
In one country, however, it has been approved.
The Times of London reports that the UK Department of Transport says it complies with the letter of the law.
“The regulations regarding steering equipment (UN-ECE Regulation 79) do not determine the shape or size of the steering wheel,” reads the answer of the single sentence, “the DFT said.
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In fact, the department specifically refers steering, forks and yokes in its guidance for car safety inspections.
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However, the unusual operating elements in the new Teslas go beyond the shape of the wheel. There are no stalks on the steering column. The direction indicators and lights are operated by buttons on the wheel spokes and Elon Musk said that the cars can “guess” in which direction you want to go, and therefore it is not necessary to operate the manual selector manually. touch screen displays just in case.
There is one reservation for British Tesla customers. The new Model S and X will only be available in the UK in 2022.