Amongst the hubbub surrounding Tesla's updated Model S sedan and Model X SUV sharing a new interior layout with a horizontally oriented touchscreen and offering ultra-quick new three-motor Plaid variants, one change stood out. Literally, it pokes out of the new dashboard in the Model S and Model X.  It's the wacky airplane-yoke-style not-round steering wheel Tesla says both electric vehicles will come with. But will the automaker really ship such an unusual steering interface to customers?

 

We found some images of the new Model S with a regular steering wheel buried within the source code of Tesla's website, which suggests to us that even the automaker is hedging that the new wheel shape may go unloved by customers or, more critically, be banished by regulators.

 

Wait, Can Tesla Even Sell Cars With A Steering "Yoke?"

 

The law isn't totally clear on whether or not the new Teslas' steering yokes are fair game, although, in recently proposed rule changes to primary vehicle controls amidst the rise of self-driving cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) noted it has never fully defined the necessary shape of a steering wheel—i.e., that it must be a complete circle or at least mostly round. It's only written that the control must satisfy crash standards. In fact, in seeking to clarify definitions of driver controls (and explicitly cover such interfaces in self-driving vehicles that may not need them at all), the NHTSA states—while specifying its wording on the topic—that:

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