The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y there may be an option soon physical button and knob to give the owner tactile control on some functions are buried in the touch screen. Instead of tapping and swiping hard on climate settings or other features that don’t work behind a screenTesla owners can expect a aftermarket accessories called Ctrl-Bar to add actual buttons to their screen. That is, if the crowdfunded input device can get it to production.
Ctrl-Bar promises to easily add a strip of physical buttons to the bottom of the Tesla Model 3 and Y’s infotainment screens, putting a variety of features at your fingertips. OK, so the touch screen does the same thing, but it’s not as satisfying. Greenmission created the Ctrl-Bar to solve that problem in Models 3 and Y, and to make it easy and simple to set up the device.
The Ctrl-Bar has two knobs or dials, as well as four programmable buttons that can be assigned to actions that can turn on the seat heater, toggle defrost and dog mode, and more. You can open chests, chests, even the glove box with the buttons. Final!
The stick mounts and is powered via USB, which the manufacturers claim is discrete or “hidden”. The Ctrl-Bar connects to the Tesla EV using your phone as an intermediary, which means your phone must be connected via Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. That may seem odd, but given the integration of these EVs with smartphones via the Tesla app, it’s not as strange as it sounds.
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All button presses or turn of the dials are then sent through your phone to the car so there’s a slight delay, according to the makers. But I guess a mild stutter is better than not having physical buttons at all. We can mostly agree that pressing is so much better than tapping, and carmakers are starting to get hip to the idea that certain controls need buttons. Tesla is one of the pioneers of the minimalist cabin, for better or worse; I’m going with worse since a lack of buttons is a consistently a problem for Tesla owners.
And since the Ctrl-Bar is essentially a “smart” device that connects to a phone, it’ll get OTA updates for both functionality and to expand its features. The designers say they’re already planning to add things like Speed Trap warnings via a subscription, but I’m less enthused about that.
The Ctrl-Bar has already beat its goal at Indiegogo for an initial batch with an intro price of €249 ($272 at current exchange rates), though that doesn’t guarantee it’ll make it to retail. It very well could, given the reception to the device. And the creators of the Ctrl-Bar are partnering with Abstract Ocean, a well-known company that sells aftermarket products for Tesla models. Having the support of an established retailer can only help, but this is a problem Tesla should address. Until then, it seems after-sales happy to enter.
