Tesla's steering yoke is A-OK, UK government says
Meanwhile, the US government wants to have a chat about the wild fixture.
Tesla's wild yoke-style steering wheel is legal for UK roads after the Department for Transportation told the Sunday Times its regulations do not "stipulate any shape or size of the steering wheel." The short-and-sweet response appears to clear the way for the latest Tesla Model S and Model X updates featuring the yoke wheel to hit local UK roads.
Auto Express reported on the newspaper's report and added UK regulations allow for any sort of steering equipment as long as it meets the Department for Transport's requirements for excessive movement for the steering equipment in question. The department did not immediately return Roadshow's request for comment. But its blunt response to the Sunday Times comes in stark contrast to the US government , which told Roadshow last week it wants to have a chat with Tesla about the yoke steering wheel.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Roadshow it "cannot determine if the steering wheel meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards." That's not to say the yoke doesn't meet standards, but the regulators need to still make that call. NHTSA did not immediately return a follow-up request for comment on if conversations took place yet.
We're not regulators, but Editor-in-Chief Tim Stevens already spoke about why the yoke isn't a lovely retro throwback, but perhaps a safety issue -- much as we all want to live out our KITT fantasies.
