I wouldn’t say I am a car person. I like cars just like any other things, like electronic devices, architecture. But not as much as food or music. I would say I am interested and I like beeing invited to events about cars (especially design related) but I am not that passionate about it. Until last Saturday. When I had my first real Tesla experience.  I was sitting in the Tesla Model S P85+ of Selim and we were driving to the Mezzehallen event of Kitchen Guerilla.

Image by teslamotors.com

The car ride was amazing! The car is amazing! It is luxurious, fast and crafted in a superior way. I have never seen such a hybrid of a family car (5+2 seats) and a sports car (310KW = 421PS). One of the most amazing things is the display. I was overwhelmed. Not only the size but the performance, it was fast, intuitive, smart, and really user friendly.
You are able to control your whole car with it, the roof window, lights, ac, etc. The benefit is that you don’t have any additional buttons everywhere. You are able to use the same display as a giant map (based on GoogleMaps), as a TV, online radio, browser, etc. The interface of the Tesla felt like an iPad. This and the combination with the electric engine (no sound, extreme acceleration) felt like I was driving in a car of the future, something completely new. And I hope that the future of cars will be like this.

A thing I don’t really get in cars of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc – the interactive systems are not as good as they could be. In fact I don’t know why car manufacturer don’t use an iPad as mobile system. You could use all your apps with it – listen to music via spotify, GoogleMaps, Navigon, Calendar, etc. You have great reception (with LTE and could be empowered within the car), just add an app with what you can control your car. And on the go you have all relevant information about your car with you on your mobile device (like Dash). I bet there are concepts like this but so far I don’t know them.

Image by teslamotors.com

I don’t know if Matthaeus Krenn’s approach is the right way but at least it’s something different. And I like it.

Since I am also working in the design fields I know that there is a lot happening right now. Car manufacturers are on the hunt of UX and UI designers. For me it’s a damn interesting field. I would like to see something.

Tobi, Wolfgang, what is Mercedes doing about it?