Calling all Tesla fanatics! There's big news coming from the EV giant today - it looks like they've made some major adjustments to the prices of their new Yoke Steering system for the Model S and X range.
According to reports, price alterations are now visible
across order pages in North American, China and Europe, with this sought-after
feature now available for a whopping $1,000 -jump from its original $250 cost!
For those looking for steering upgrades on their Tesla vehicle – here’s what you need to know.
Tesla Yoke Steering Prices Increased for Model S & X
Tesla has just announced that the yoke steering option,
available on its Model S and X cars in select regions worldwide, is now subject
to an increase in cost. In the US, customers will have to shell out a $1000 for
this upgrade; while it’s €1000 in Europe and 8000 RMB in China.
This latest decision by Tesla seems to be a surprising shift
in their pricing policies, as the yoke steering option came at an incredibly
affordable price of just $250 in the US and RMB 2000 in China.
The introduction of Tesla’s latest Model S Plaid variant and other upcoming cars with new features likely played its role in this sudden increase; perhaps implying that buyers will now have to pay extra if they want access to certain upgrades such as this one.
The Yoke Steering System Always had Mixed Reviews from Owners
When CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Model S and X, he made
a decision that provoked heavy criticism across the automotive industry:
shipping cars with an unconventional steering yoke rather than a traditional
round wheel.
The distinctive Y-shape wheel drew both interest and
confusion from critics. Some praised it for creating a futuristic look for the
interiors of the vehicles whereas others criticized the design for reportedly
being harder to control than a conventional steering wheel.
Since then, Tesla has switched gears and is now shipping
both of these models with more traditional round steering wheels instead. This
caused many owners to take varying sides on this choice; some were pleased by
the change while others felt like it limited the vehicles’ original template of
introducing drivers to a modernized driving experience.
Finally, there were reports that some owners actually enjoyed the steering yoke and thought it felt more manageable in comparison to the round wheel version. For this portion, opinions on either side are largely split with mixed reviews widely dispersed among those who experienced driving with the Y-shaped steering system.
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Round v/s Yoke- Which One’s Better?
The debate between round v/s yoke style steering wheel has
been going on for a long time. This discussion was brought into focus again
recently when Unplugged Performance’s Tesla Model S Plaid racecar won its class
in the 2021 Pikes Peak Hill Climb exhibition with professional driver Randy
Pobst behind the wheels.
The breakthrough victory, however, showcased a case very
strongly in favor of round steering wheels. Clearly, it was the perfect choice
as this victory revealed that even for driving on a winding course like Pikes
Peak Hill Climb – round steering wheels have a superior and more comfortable
feel to them than yoke style ones do.
Aside from the success at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, the model S
Plaid which made a run at the Nürburgring circuit also broke some heavy record!
This time around though the car was equipped with a yoke steering system which
assists drivers in navigating curves at high speed.
All in all, these two recent highly successful events have
revealed that both round as well as yoke style steering wheels play an
important role depending upon different scenarios and sport’s needs.
While round steering wheels provide superior control & feel during professional racing events; on tracks filled with challenging sharp cues such as Nürburgring- the yoke proves to be extremely helpful for achieving higher levels of comfort and convenience while touring those winding roads!
Round Steering Systems are Still in High Demand!
In January 2021, Tesla announced a round steering retrofit
for cars with yoke-style wheels. The announcement implied that the company
acknowledge that there was still demand for this type of configuration, and
they clearly delivered on that expectation in spades.
The round wheel design became incredibly popular and sold
out quickly – proving there are plenty of consumers who had missed the circle
steering system from their days of owning older vehicles.
The demand was so great that Tesla ultimately decided to
make this new steering wheel the official style for all Model S and Model X
cars, offering it as a standard option starting with 2021 models.
Understandably, some critics have claimed that a round
design like the one chosen by Tesla may not be ergonomically ideal since plenty
of other car makers opt for other shapes.
Moreover, the retrofit itself cost $700, so it could also be argued that it was not worth the money to ”stay old school” with a round steering wheel.
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The Bottom Line
Tesla's return of the Yoke steering wheel option was already
exciting news, but with their recent price change of $1000 USD, it is sure to
spark some debate.
Many customers who have had their fingers crossed for a more
traditional design now have access to the feature they desire. However, only
time will tell how they react to this increase in cost.