Twitter-Happy Elon Musk Asks Drivers How To Improve Tesla

The e-car czar wants to know what “esthetic and functionality improvements” his customers desire.

Only a week after Tesla announced an over-the-air upgrade to the Model S operating system that lets the electric car steer itself, CEO Elon Musk asked his Twitter followers what features they would like to see improved or added to the user interface in the next release, version 7.1.

Surely, legions of hardworking software coders in Palo Alto groaned at the prospect of their boss asking everyone on the planet what they should be working on, but the question surely provides some useful idea of what customers’ priorities are.

Unsurprisingly, integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were popular requests. Some current Tesla owners weren’t thrilled that version 7.0 removed the trip odometer from the main screen.  Others were unhappy with the size and ease of use of the virtual button for the garage door opener.

A request for support for additional music services is an obvious improvement for customers spending time behind the wheel.

A suggestion that might not have occurred to the Silicon Valley types who have worked so hard to fill the Model S’s huge center console display with useful information and pretty images might surprise them, but it is an obvious request for drivers: to let us switch the display off at night to eliminate its glare from the cabin.

What Musk chooses to do with these suggestions remains to be seen, but in past press conferences he has proudly pointed out how quickly Tesla has adopted previous requests, so there is a good chance he will consider these ideas if they weren’t already planned.

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Photos by Telsa Motors