Tesla’s new rectangular steering wheel has raised eyebrows since it was unveiled this week, and not just among admirers and critics.
The National Road Traffic Safety Administration started taking a look at the unusual control interface, Motor1 reported first.
“At this time, NHTSA cannot determine whether the steering wheel meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. We will be contacting the automaker for more information,” the agency said in a confirmed statement to Fox News Autos.
Along with its airplane shape, the steering wheel has no control rod behind it.
Only a few photos have been revealed, which appear to show touchpad thumb controls on the left wheel spoken for the direction indicators and more for the windshield wiper and horn on the right.
Ferrari currently employs large buttons on the wheels to operate the direction indicators, but Tesla’s vision is unique.
“Tesla’s story is not surprising when they announce new safety features as if they are easily reversible upgrades to a cell phone instead of controls for a multi-ton vehicle,” said Jason Levine, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety.
“While it may be possible to safely design a new steering wheel, we look forward to hearing the conclusion of the NHTSA investigation into whether this is what Tesla did here.”
The Tesla Model 3 and Y use a conventional steering wheel with rods, but the controls for its windshield wipers are divided between a button on the left rod that provides a single wipe or spray cleaning and wipe when pressed while the touchscreen is used to fully activate them and adjust their speed. There is also an automatic rain detection function available, listed as a beta feature under development.
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Tesla also provides voice commands for many systems and the new wheel design may reflect this, along with the company’s promise to provide fully autonomous driving capability by the end of 2021.
NHTSA recently updated its regulations to allow self-driving cars to be built without any steering wheel or pedals, but only if they are designed primarily to be operated without a human driver.
The new wheel is equipped with the updated S model and Mode X, which have just entered production, while the prototypes of the upcoming Cybertruck and Roadster had a similar design.
Elon Musk elaborated on Twitter how the car works without a rod for a transmission selector saying “The car guesses the steering direction based on the obstacles it sees, context and navigation map. You can substitute on the touchscreen.”
He added this: “After driving without using a PRND stalk / stick for a few days, it is very annoying to go back and use a shifter!”
This story was updated with Musk’s comments