Video shows Tesla has added the center screen tilting function to the new Model S and Model X refresh vehicles

An interesting new video has surfaced on Twitter that shows a Tesla Model S design refresh center touchscreen tilting both towards the driver and passenger sides. Interestingly, this function has been controlled via the center display UI itself — confirming that this function is officially from Tesla.

Since this video has been posted on Twitter, I asked the poster several questions like the production month and the software update version but he just said “it’s from the factory”. This might be because he got his hands on a new Model S recently made at the factory for a brief period of time and wasn’t able to check all this information.

However, reputable Tesla Community member Ryan McCaffery quoting his sources working for the automaker, told that Tesla has started making tilt-able screens for new Model S/X vehicles currently being made at the Fremont factory. Ryan posted this tweet on 30th April, so it’s safe to believe that the new Model S/X vehicles built since the last week of April 2022 have the center screen tilt functionality (pending official confirmation).

Just got rock-solid confirmation from a Tesla source that the latest Model S and Model X cars built have the long-awaited center-screen tilting functionality. Or at least, the hardware to do so. Presumably an upcoming software update will enable it in the UI.
— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) April 29, 2022

Since the video (below) shows that the screen swivel mechanism is controlled from the center touchscreen UI, Tesla will be enabling this function via a future software update. The software and UI that we see in this video are factory versions for testing purposes and have not yet been released publicly.

The UI that we see in this video clip is going to add new center screen tilt/rotate sideways icons to the Controls section.

Tesla finally added screen swivel to the refreshed model s pic.twitter.com/JeldBrRTXw
— Larry Li (@TeslaFrunk) May 3, 2022

Video: Demonstration of the Tesla Model S design refresh center touchscreen tilt function (ignore the power frunk opening as it’s an aftermarket add-on by @TeslaFrunk).

When Sandy Munro and his engineering team tore down a Tesla Model S Plaid and looked deeply at the center screen functions, they found that it was equipped with most of the mechanisms to be able to articulate both towards the driver and passenger sides — which we have seen in the video above (detailed teardown video below).

But in the new design refresh Model S/X cars produced last year and at least in the 1st quarter of this year are not equipped with the motor that is required to rotate the screen sideways. With the latest production models of the S and X, Tesla has started installing the motors to enable the screen-tilting functionality.

Since the space and mechanisms for screen rotation were always present in the new 2021/2022 Model S and Model X vehicles (AWD & Plaid both variants), Tesla should be offering a motor retrofit to existing owners of these vehicles.

From Q2 2021 to Q1 2022 Tesla (TSLA) produced 38,608 new design-refresh Tesla Model S and Model X cars. At least these plus some cars built in April will need to be retrofitted with the center screen rotating motor to enable the tilting function.

Stay tuned for constant Tesla updates, follow us on:
Google News | Flipboard | RSS (Feedly).