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As Tesla’s mid-to-high-end models, Model S and Model X have not received facelifts for many years, which has also led to a decline in their market competitiveness. According to Tesla’s fourth quarter 2020 financial report, Tesla’s total delivery in the fourth quarter was about 180,000 vehicles, an increase of 61% year-on-year. Among them, Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered approximately 160,000 vehicles, an increase of 75% year-on-year; Model S and Model X deliveries were approximately 19,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 3%.
Compared with current models, the new Model S and Model X have ushered in different levels of upgrades in terms of power, configuration and appearance. The publicity map of Tesla’s official website shows that the new Model S has a “three-screen” layout in the passenger compartment, with a 12.3-inch main instrument, a 17-inch horizontal central control screen, and an 8-inch rear screen. Among them, the game system built into the 17-inch central control screen is equipped with a processor capable of 10 trillion floating-point operations per second, and is also compatible with wireless control handles.
Picture source: Sina Weibo (@ Tesla)
What’s more noteworthy is that the new model is suspected of using a rectangular steering wheel similar in shape to a Formula 1 racing car, and the steering light lever and the “preserving gear” shifting mechanism used in the older models have been cancelled. Tesla called it In order to “explore an important step in the design of self-driving car cabins”, this “disruptive” change also immediately attracted the attention of the industry.
Some analysts believe that the rectangular steering wheel is mostly used in professional racing cars, such as Formula 1 cars. This is mainly because the steering angle of the vehicle is basically between 0 and 90 degrees when driving on the track. The rectangular steering wheel can be used when the vehicle enters a corner. Provide a more precise steering feel. In the daily car scene, the “top edge” rectangular steering wheel adopted by Tesla’s new models may cause inconvenience or even safety hazards to the vehicle.
“The steering wheel of the new Model S has two main safety hazards. On the one hand, can the center of the steering wheel be reasonably equipped with airbags and ensure that the protrusions on both sides of the steering wheel will not hurt the passengers in the car in the event of an accident; , Whether touch-type turn signals and wipers can ensure long-term normal operation and avoid false triggers.” Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief of the Roadshow channel, believes that relevant US regulatory agencies should investigate this matter clearly.
Picture source: Sina Weibo (@ Tesla)
According to a Reuters report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently stated that it has contacted Tesla to discuss whether the shape of the steering wheel meets the US federal motor vehicle safety standards. A spokesperson for the agency said: “It is currently impossible to determine whether this steering wheel meets federal motor vehicle safety standards. If Tesla violates the regulations, the steering wheel will be removed.”
In addition, it is reported that the rectangular steering wheel will appear as an optional configuration on the new Model S and Model X models, but as of press time, Tesla has not responded to this.
2. Want to accelerate the popularization of “FSD” function?
In fact, for Tesla, the use of a rectangular steering wheel and the elimination of the shift lever design on the new models is “relatively conservative”. As early as 2019, Musk said in public that “models without steering wheels and pedals will be produced before 2021.” What really gives Musk the confidence is Tesla’s continuous breakthroughs in autonomous driving technology in recent years.
In October 2020, Tesla released the “FSD City Street” test version to a few users. According to reports, after the program has been rewritten, the test version has realized the ability to perceive the depth of complex intersections. It not only has the ability to recognize stop signs, traffic lights and other signs, and turn at intersections, but also realize autonomous driving without relying on lane lines. , Autonomous overtaking, obstacle avoidance and functions to deal with various weather conditions.
It is worth mentioning that after continuously collecting data and pushing updates, the Tesla FSD beta software has made progress again in the past few months. Judging from the system video shared by it, the FSD beta version has been able to accurately respond to the conditions of the downtown streets and complete cross-city driving without human intervention.
Some analysts believe that with the gradual improvement of the FSD test version, Tesla may consider high-level autonomous driving functions as the company’s main profit point in the future. According to Tesla’s 2020 financial report data, due to the main product structure of its products