Tesla CEO Says No Instrument Cluster OR HUD In Model 3 — What’s Going On? (#ElonTweets)

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently had an interesting exchange on Twitter with a probable Model 3 buyer concerning the Model 3. After a pleading request from this person for a central speedometer in the Model 3, Elon noted very concisely that there would be no option for a conventional display like that. No surprise there — that matches earlier comments on the subject.

Responding to a quick second request that got more specific (“I’d still rather spend the extra $50 on a simple 2″ LCD speedo if nothing else. I strongly prefer it in the middle.”), Elon provided this simple line: “you won’t care.”

Hmm, why not?

What’s probably more interesting is that Musk also said (in response to a third tweet from the same guy) that there would be no HUD (heads-up display). We figured as much last week when Elon tweeted that the Model 3 would have “nothing majorly new that a consumer would notice,” but it had long been assumed by many Tesla fans and even experts that the Model 3 would have a HUD, so this came as a surprise last week. Additionally, if consumers who think they want a conventional speedometer “won’t care” in the end, what are they getting instead? And if the company isn’t going to include a HUD (or something similar), then why did it go on a hiring spree over the last few years grabbing those specializing in such things? Perhaps a HUD is planned for the Model S & X? Perhaps they’re just working on other things? Perhaps the HUD idea fell through?

The situation is curious, and I’m not sure what to make out of it. As implied above, there are a lot of people who prefer to not rely solely on a center console for everything … and yet Elon claims that “you won’t care.” Is the implication just that the car will be driving itself so much that this shouldn’t be an issue of concern to you? Autopilot is widely presumed to be an option, not activated on all cars, so drivers will still need to see the speed they’re travelling, right? What other alternatives can be at play here?

Who knows? I guess that we’ll have to wait a few more months to find out what exactly is going on. Here are the tweet exchanges in question:

[Update March 30] There’s also this tweet:

And the one from last week that first tipped us off to there not being a HUD:

Related:

20 Minutes of Tesla Model 3 & Tesla Model X External Video Footage, & 5 Things I Love About The Model 3 (Exclusive Video)

Tesla Model 3 Review From EVANNEX (Exclusive Video Interview)


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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