Tesla Model S sedan and Model X SUV buyers can now order an ordinary steering wheel instead of an airplane-like yoke.
The company hasn’t given up on its experiment with airplane-like controls. The yoke remains an option, but it’s no longer the only option.
Tesla introduced the steering yoke with a 2021 makeover of its aging Model S sedan and later brought it to the high-end Model X SUV. The yoke, like everything Tesla does, won immediate fans and detractors and inspired countless YouTube discourses with pros and cons.
It also inspired a round of imitators, most coming in concept cars not meant for production. But Toyota offers buyers a yoke on its bZ4X electric vehicle (EV) in some markets, and its Lexus luxury marque plans one for its upcoming RZ 450e EV.
The Toyota/Lexus yoke, however, has something Tesla’s doesn’t — variable steering ratios. Drivers can turn the Toyota EVs without needing a hand-over-hand motion.
Not so with the Tesla yoke. That makes steering at low speeds a complicated affair and gives drivers an adjustment period as they learn how to perform low-speed turns with less steering wheel to grab.
Tesla no longer operates a public relations department to field reporters’ questions, so the company has offered no mea culpa on the yoke. But it has silently added the wheel as a no-cost option for new orders.
If you have a yoke you dislike, you’re not stuck with it. A new page on Tesla’s website offers a retrofit kit that will replace your yoke with a conventional steering wheel for $700. The page says the kit will be available in March.
