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Porsche Taycan’s touchscreens are not like Tesla’s, but that’s a good thing
Porsche has released teaser images of the Taycan’s interior, and the reception from the electric vehicle community has been somewhat mixed. The cabin of the upcoming all-electric sports car is arguably the most forward-thinking among Porsche’s lineup. It is also not difficult to see that the German carmaker adopted a theme that is notably different compared to Tesla’s ubiquitous and minimalistic cabin, but that is a good thing.
When Porsche was designing the Taycan, the company was not designing a vehicle like the Model 3. Instead, the company was designing an electric Porsche. In this sense, a degree of familiarity is needed, especially considering that among the Taycan’s target demographic are people that have long embraced the company’s other vehicles, such as the iconic 911.
This is a notable point, considering that the community’s aversion to the Taycan’s dash layout seemed to be due to the number of buttons and icons across the vehicle’s multiple touchscreens. Some comments noted that the only difference between the controls of the Taycan and something more traditional like the Cayenne is that the buttons are now touch-based instead of mechanical.
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- Porsche Taycan interior 5 touchscreens center armrest cupholders | Credit: Porsche
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- Porsche Taycan curved digital touchscreen instrument cluster | Credit: Porsche
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- Porsche Taycan center touchscreens armrest cupholders | Credit: Porsche
The Porsche Taycan is equipped with five touchscreens. Its instrument cluster, which has four Driving Modes, consists of a curved, rounded 16.8″ display with touch-enabled buttons on the sides. This is complemented by a central 10.9″ infotainment screen and a secondary display for the front passenger. An 8.4″ touch panel with haptic feedback stands as the Taycan’s fourth touchscreen, while a fifth, optional 5.9″ display is also available for rear-seat passengers to adjust climate control and other settings.
Porsche intends to adopt an aggressive rollout of electric and electrified vehicles in the near future, with the Taycan being the car to lead the charge. The Taycan must then strike a balance between traditional and progressive. Having a series of touch-based controls that are relatively similar to the controls the Porsche 911 and its other fleet of vehicles helps this case. Apart from this, the company has also highlighted that the Taycan’s touch displays are customizable, which means that drivers could adopt a more streamlined theme to their vehicles’ multiple touchscreens as needed. Having a fully digital display also gives Porsche the ability to gradually, and strategically, institute changes to its user interface design through software updates, and in a way that eases its audience into the age of modern user experiences.
But as it stands now, there is a certain degree of familiar ergonomics that is provided with the Taycan’s multiple touch displays. The optional touch panel on the passenger side, for one, allows passengers to navigate the vehicle’s functions without leaning over to the center console. The haptic feedback on the display at the center console is easily accessible from the passenger seat as well.
Ultimately, credit is due to Porsche for putting a notable amount of effort in developing a custom touch-based control system for the Taycan. It may not have the distinctly Silicon Valley-esque theme that is present in the Model 3, but the Taycan’s multiple digital touch-based controls show serious effort. It is, if any, notably better than the dual-screen infotainment system on the Audi e-tron, which appears to have been directly derived from an internal combustion vehicle.
News
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Marie Nilsson, chair of Sweden’s IF Metall union and a prominent critic of Tesla, has left X and is urging audiences to follow the union on Meta’s Threads instead.
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Anti-Tesla union leader exits X
In a comment to Dagens Arbete (DA), Nilsson noted that her exit from X is not formally tied to IF Metall’s long-running labor dispute with Tesla Sweden. Still, she stated that her departure is affected by changes to the platform under Elon Musk’s leadership.
“We have stayed because many journalists pick up news there. But as more and more people have left X, we have felt that the standard has now been reached on that platform,” she said.
Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall, highlighted that the union’s departure from X is only indirectly linked to Tesla Sweden and Elon Musk. “Indirectly it does, since there is a lot of evidence that his ownership has caused the change in the platform to be so significant.
“We have nevertheless assessed that the platform had value for reaching journalists, politicians and other opinion leaders. But it is a microscopic proportion of the public and our members who are there, and now that value has decreased,” Petterson added.
IF Metall sees Threads as an X alternative
After leaving X, IF Metall has begun using Threads, Meta’s alternative to the social media platform. The union described the move as experimental, noting that it is still evaluating how effective the platform will be for outreach and visibility.
Pettersson acknowledged that Meta also does not operate under Sweden’s collective bargaining model, but said the union sees little alternative if it wants to remain visible online.
“In a perfect world, all large international companies would be supporters of the Swedish model when they come here. But unfortunately, the reality is not like that. If we are to be visible at all in this social media world, we have to play by the rules of the game. The alternative would be to become completely invisible, and that would not benefit our members,” he said.
Despite many recent rumors and various reports, Elon Musk confirmed today that SpaceX is not developing a phone based on Starlink, not once, but twice.
Today’s report from Reuters cited people familiar with the matter and stated internal discussions have seen SpaceX executives mulling the idea of building a mobile device that would connect directly to the Starlink satellite constellation.
Musk did state in late January that SpaceX developing a phone was “not out of the question at some point.” However, He also said it would have to be a major difference from current phones, and would be optimized “purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.”
Not out of the question at some point. It would be a very different device than current phones. Optimized purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2026
While Musk said it was not out of the question “at some point,” that does not mean it is currently a project SpaceX is working on. The CEO reaffirmed this point twice on X this afternoon.
Musk said, “Reuters lies relentlessly,” in one post. In the next, he explicitly stated, “We are not developing a phone.”
Reuters lies relentlessly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
We are not developing a phone
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
Musk has basically always maintained that SpaceX has too many things going on, denying that a phone would be in the realm of upcoming projects. There are too many things in the works for Musk’s space exploration company, most notably the recent merger with xAI.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
A Starlink phone would be an excellent idea, especially considering that SpaceX operates 9,500 satellites, serving over 9 million users worldwide. 650 of those satellites are dedicated to the company’s direct-to-device initiative, which provides cellular coverage on a global scale.
Nevertheless, there is the potential that the Starlink phone eventually become a project SpaceX works on. However, it is not currently in the scope of what the company needs to develop, so things are more focused on that as of right now.
Tesla has added a notable improvement to its Dashcam feature after complaints from owners have pushed the company to make a drastic change.
Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations that Tesla owners have communicated regarding the Dashcam feature is the lack of ability to retain any more than 60 minutes of driving footage before it is overwritten.
It does not matter what size USB jump drive is plugged into the vehicle. 60 minutes is all it will hold until new footage takes over the old. This can cause some issues, especially if you were saving an impressive clip of Full Self-Driving or an incident on the road, which could be lost if new footage was recorded.
This has now been changed, as Tesla has shown in the Release Notes for an upcoming Software Update in China. It will likely expand to the U.S. market in the coming weeks, and was first noticed by NotaTeslaApp.
The release notes state:
“Dashcam Dynamic Recording Duration – The dashcam dynamically adjusts the recording duration based on the available storage capacity of the connected USB drive. For example, with a 128 GB USB drive, the maximum recording duration is approximately 3 hours; with a 1 TB or larger USB drive, it can reach up to 24 hours. This ensures that as much video as possible is retained for review before it gets overwritten.”
Tesla Adds Dynamic Recording
Instead of having a 60-minute cap, the new system will now go off the memory in the USB drive. This means with:
- 128 GB Jump Drive – Up to Three Hours of Rolling Footage
- 1TB Jump Drive – Up to 24 Hours of Rolling Footage
This is dependent on the amount of storage available on the jump drive, meaning that if there are other things saved on it, it will take away from the amount of footage that can be retained.
While the feature is just now making its way to employees in China, it will likely be at least several weeks before it makes its way to the U.S., but owners should definitely expect it in the coming months.
It will be a welcome feature, especially as there will now be more customization to the number of clips and their duration that can be stored.
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Elon Musk confirms SpaceX is not developing a phone
