Tesla drivers ditch Yoke as Model S/X round wheel retrofit sells out

Credit: Tesla

Tesla drivers are ditching the Yoke steering wheel as the company’s recently-released Model S and Model X round wheel retrofit has already sold out.

After Tesla refreshed the Model S and Model X several years ago, the vehicles were released with Yoke steering wheels, which was controversial due to the automaker’s decision to not offer a traditional round steering wheel option as an alternative.

The company would eventually let drivers decide in the online Design Studio, but it took some time for Tesla to actually give customers the option to choose. Instead, it indicated that it would offer a retrofit for those who wanted a round steering wheel instead of the Yoke.

Tesla started offering the round steering wheel retrofit earlier this month, but it is already sold out.

Tesla’s website also lists the retrofit as “Out of Stock.

The steering wheel retrofit was first offered by Tesla just eight days ago on March 15, and costs a steep $700. The product could be purchased through the Tesla App, which would then schedule a Tesla Service appointment. The installation price was factored into the initial purchase price.

The Yoke was met with mixed reviews when it was first released. Tesla did not have to have the steering option approved by federal agencies like the NHTSA, as it said in a statement to Teslarati that it “requested and received information from Tesla about the steering yoke and we remain actively engaged with the company during our review. NHTSA routinely engages with auto manufacturers and suppliers to better understand the new technologies and features they develop and introduce to the U.S. fleet.”

Since its release, Tesla has continued to improve the Yoke by offering software updates that made it more intuitive.

Tesla still appears to be offering the Yoke as a standard option on the upcoming Cybertruck, although it underwent a bit of a redesign for the company’s Cyberpunk-inspired pickup.

Tesla did not release how many retrofit kits were available for the Model S and Model X. However, it appears that in just eight days, customers have already shown they were highly anticipating the company’s release of the retrofit kit.

Joey Klender: Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his time at TESLARATI, Joey has broken several big stories, including the first images of the Tesla Model S Plaid, the imminent release of the 4680 Model Y through EPA certification, and several expansions to the Lucid AMP-1 factory in Arizona, to name a few. His stories have been featured in several publications, including Yahoo! Finance, Fox News, CNET, and Seeking Alpha. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
Related Post
Disqus Comments Loading...