Tesla’s Macintosh 193
The original plan was that Model S wouldn’t be a true
electric car. “We were looking closely at doing a plug-in
hybrid at Tesla and for a brief period the Model S was gonna
be a plug-in hybrid,” Elon said. “But as we drew deeper
and deeper into the design, we concluded that we could
not make a compelling hybrid. We just didn’t like what we
came up with. The market will decide whether we were
right or wrong.”^435
Due to the electric engine and the material, the Model
S got a better acceleration compared with a sports car. A
favorite prank at Tesla is to invite a prospective customer
and ask the unsuspecting passenger to turn on the radio.
At the precise moment as the passenger leans forward
towards the control panel, they accelerate. Because of the
fast acceleration, the passenger can’t lean forward enough
to reach the radio.
Model S got a large touch-screen between the driver
and the front passenger seat. The 17” screen looks like
an iPad. “It is a leap forward, you need no knobs,” von
Holzhausen said. “Before we launched we were a little
unsure if some would miss the old world. Customers love
the screen; it’s amazing how fast they become totally
comfortable with it.”^239
But even the best designer makes mistakes. The Tesla
team decided not to install reading-lights in the backseat.
They didn’t think people would read traditional books -
they thought people would read on e-book readers that
doesn’t need an external light source. Once, when Elon
drove his Model S with his kids in the backseat, one of