Car, or connected device?
You can imagine our excitement when my dad took us to the Tesla factory in Fremont, CA to bring home his new Model S. I was excited to try it out at least a couple of times before I left for college for the next couple of months.
It’s been a year since the Tesla came home, and my first time driving the car was around 2 weeks ago.
Why wait so long, you ask?
I’m generally scared of driving fancy cars. But something about Tesla’s massive departure from the norm was uniquely terrifying to me at first. My experiences as a UX designer have taught me that technology can move a lot faster than our brains. Tesla’s radical departure from the conventional car challenges this notion.
I wince a bit at the use of the word “terrifying” to describe Tesla’s product. Products need to satisfy their end user—in this case, consumers of upmarket vehicles. “Intimidating” is probably not the reaction you want your customer to have. I voiced this concern to my dad when he first bought the car.
“When the iPhone came out, I was the first to write it off. I simply couldn’t trust a phone with no keyboard to handle emailing, texting, and calling.”
I was unconvinced. I still felt overwhelmed the week the car came home. I opted not to drive. I went back to school.
Fast forward about a year. I’m home and my uncle has borrowed the van. My sister has commandeered what used to be the car I used when I came home from school. I had to pick up takeout for dinner. That left only the Tesla. I swallowed my qualms and took it out for a spin.
That first drive was electrifying. I drove it throughout my winter break whenever I got the chance, familiarizing myself with the feel of the car and its touchscreen. I’m still getting used to autopilot and regenerative breaking, as they’re undoubtedly futuristic and innovative features.
I’m thrilled by the concept of autonomous vehicles. Due to the presence of self-driving Ubers in Pittsburgh, I’ve been able to pursue research in the field. The Model S isn’t an autonomous vehicle(yet), but after studying commercially available technology in this area, I’m considerably impressed with the capability of autopilot on long stretches of the road. It follows the curvature of freeway lanes in the worst conditions—I’ve tested autopilot on a very dark night with low visibility due to heavy fog and pouring rain, and the car drove like a dream. Autopilot can also perform safe lane changes just by flipping the turn indicator, demonstrating a very detailed awareness of the car’s immediate vicinity. This experience was the closest I’ve ever been to being alone in a “self-driving” vehicle, and I felt safe the entire time.
It is genuinely very difficult to get people to trust new, groundbreaking technology. Tesla’s autopilot gives me faith that a future with trustworthy self-driving technology is coming sooner than expected. Hats off to Tesla’s autopilot team for making it that convincing.
Another major departure from the norm was Tesla’s internal dashboard. As Don Norman preaches in his acclaimed book, The Design of Everyday Things, good design is when the user’s mental model of the product closely matches the designer’s mental model, as long as the interface functions as expected. I’m normally conservative with the word “intuitive” when describing user interfaces. However, after familiarizing myself with Tesla’s touchscreen dashboard, I thoroughly prefer it over traditional knobs and buttons.
The dashboard features an image of the vehicle itself, showing you what portions of the car are available to be adjusted. Lights? Press a button near the headlights. Want your chair heated? It’s on the bottom right of the screen, where you’re sitting.
The Model S screen makes ample use of its real estate to minimize the steps needed to make the changes you want. Most major features are 1–2 taps away. For anything more complicated, the voice-control button is on the steering wheel. The screen does an incredible job of bridging the gap between the designer’s intention and the user’s perspective.
As a company, Tesla is continuing to impress me with their commitment to redefining what it means to own a vehicle. The new Model 3 will no longer have a key fob, but instead will integrate with the Tesla smartphone application to open your car.
If your phone isn’t around or doesn’t work, they have you covered with a wallet-sized card that acts as a regular key.
I’ve dabbled in designing the user experience for ubiquitous computing products, such as conversational user interfaces. With the Model 3, I think Tesla has embraced this new wave of technology. I love companion applications for physical products, such as Nest, August Smart Lock, and Amazon Alexa. I’m very happy Tesla is moving in this direction with their cars.
Whenever people ask my dad how he likes his car, he smugly repeats the same thing every time.
“I don’t drive a car. I drive a connected device. It’s really software on wheels!”
Groanworthy.
But I agree with him, despite initially being too scared to get behind the wheel and face that massive touchscreen. After driving it, I understand the magnitude of what he’s saying.
I’m driving a device that I can customize with the tip of my index finger—either on my smartphone or on its dashboard.
It can also take me wherever I want to go. Sometimes even without my help.
Say hello to the future of driving.
