I do most of my design work in Figma. I’ve written about why in the past, but basically, it’s web-based so I can share it easily with you all. It also enables me to make and prototype interfaces like this really efficiently and easily. Here’s a link to my source file if you’re into that type of thing:

[https://www.figma.com/file/OIVSH9zbbnAAyRvoFE0dmowA/Tesla-Model-3](https://www.figma.com/file/OIVSH9zbbnAAyRvoFE0dmowA/Tesla-Model-3 And here’s the clickable prototype of that same file: https://www.figma.com/proto/OIVSH9zbbnAAyRvoFE0dmowA/Tesla-Model-3?scaling=contain&node-id=37%3A2923)

And here’s the clickable prototype of that same file:

https://www.figma.com/proto/OIVSH9zbbnAAyRvoFE0dmowA/Tesla-Model-3?scaling=contain&node-id=37%3A2923

Sidenote: If there’s some interest in why and how the Figma file is set up the way it is, let me know in the comments. Toward the end when I composed it together into a prototype, I found that using the system of components in the way that I did was craaaaaazy fast to prototype with. As a matter of fact, that part took me less than a half an hour, which I did NOT expect to be saying. I was just going to link a few of the screens together for the purposes of this post, but now I’m thinking I have to write about that crazy goodness separately. If I ever do, I’ll link it right here → …..

This car was not designed for a perfect driving experience

Whattt???

Yes. I said it.

The Tesla Model 3 is a car designed without the driver in mind. Intentionally.

There’s no knobs. There’s barely a steering wheel, for goodness sake. You have to tap a screen to turn on the windshield wipers. (edit you have a console lever to turn them on, but frequency is controlled via the screen) You have to tap a screen to open the glovebox. You have to tap a screen to turn on the emergency brake (edit this also is appears to be automatic, but manual application does appear to be in the settings). Doesn’t this all sound awful for a driver? They can no longer rely on their sheer instinct and muscle memory to operate their car.

I don’t think Tesla did this simply to be edgy, dangerous or different. They did this to prepare people for a world without drivers.

This car was designed for the riding experience

In the UI one factor and one factor alone told me everything: The screen resolution.

This car could have gone with a vertical screen, just like the Models S and X. But it didn’t. Instead, the Model 3 has a 8:5 aspect ratio and a resolution of about 1920x1200px. Why is this important?

That’s an HDTV, folks.

Well, the bottom (persistent) controls are 120px tall.

1200–120=1080.

1920x1080.

That’s an HDTV, folks.

Netflix and thrill

Okay, so finding words that rhyme with chill is hard. It’s a bad pun, I get it.

The HDTV resolution suggests that Tesla made their center console for watching things, not for driving the car. This bad boy is allllll about the driverless future. This isn’t a car with a weird dashboard, this is a mobile living room. It’s a long play, with the understanding that when regulations and technology are in place, there will be no better place to watch movies than right smack dab in the middle of the car.

This isn’t a car with a weird dashboard, this is a mobile living room.

I am by no means Elon Musk’s right hand man — these are just guesses, opinions, and conjectures. So please, put out the torches and re-hay bale the pitchforks if and when I turn out to be wrong.

Here’s some screenshots of the different parts of the UI.

Driving Mode — En Route

Link

It’s worth noting that the dashboard is within arm’s length of the driver and will be in the peripheral view of the driver. For right hand drive markets, this view could easily be flipped. Smart engineering right there.

Parked Mode

Link

It looks like the Model 3 has a lot of contextual elements. For example, when you park, only the controls that are applicable to being parked show up. It may seem obvious, but it’s pretty smart.

Quick Settings

Link

There’s a lot of settings in this car, but it looks like you’ll be able to configure a quick controls section so that the most used features are in view. It could also be possible that these are populated automatically, but there’s no way of knowing.

Music Controls

Link

There seems to be a clear emphasis on the albums rather than individual songs, so I’m wondering how much voice control this car will have.

Closing Thoughts

Recently I was rewatching the Keynote where Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone and was struck with a clear similarity to the Model 3 and the iPhone.

No physical buttons.

Here’s the part that jumped out to me: