Ever wish your Tesla had more physical buttons? The giant display that adorns all Tesla models looks great, but is cumbersome to use while driving. Tesla cars offer voice commands, but they leave a lot to be desired. Tesla cars often misunderstand you and some fairly obvious commands like changing acceleration mode simply don’t work.
An Indiegogo-funded gadget called Ctrl-Bar(opens in new window)created by a Norwegian-based startup called Greenmission.(opens in new window), aims to change that. This is a bar with two knobs and two buttons designed to sit below the Tesla Model 3/Y display, providing easy access to frequently used functions. For example, the knob makes it easy to change the temperature of your car. In addition, programmable buttons enable various functions such as turning heated seats, defrost mode or dog mode on and off.
Greenmission is not without experience. The company currently sells wireless chargers for the Tesla Model S and Model X. Like its charger, Ctrl-Bar is connected to your car via a hidden USB cable. Ctrl-Bar, on the other hand, only works on Tesla Model 3 and Y. Model S and Model X are not mentioned in the Indiegogo campaign.
Remember that 2016 video of Tesla self-driving?
Ctrl-Bar is designed to look like a natural extension of Tesla’s display, but it doesn’t communicate directly with the car. Instead, it should use a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection to communicate with a smartphone running Greenmission’s app and connect to the internet. Clicking a button or turning a knob first sends a command to your phone, then communicates with the Tesla API to force the car to make a bid.
This leads to potentially the most problematic aspect of Ctrl-Bar. That’s the inevitable delay between issuing a command and actually seeing it on the car’s display. Greenmission partially solved this by including a Ctrl-Bar display that immediately shows the result of the action, but the actual command must be executed by the car in “less than a second”. Clicking the button and turning the knob continuously can result in a fairly long wait “less than a second”, but once the Ctrl-Bar is complete, let’s see how it actually works. (currently in development). .
Ctrl-Bar brings other perks such as extra LED lighting for cars, speed trap warnings, and more. Greenmission says new features will be available via over-the-air updates.
The project has now raised just over $18,000 and has a modest fixed goal of $27,216, with 20 days left to reach it. If you’re interested, you can support this project and get Ctrl-Bar (when it becomes available) for $260.
Ctrl-Bar isn’t the first accessory of its kind. S3XY button(opens in new window)For example, there are far fewer options, but they are similar. However, under the Model 3/Y display he finds the Ctrl-Bar so natural that it makes you wonder why Tesla didn’t include a set of physical buttons from the start. Tesla Model 3 reviewers have long complained about the lack of physical buttons. An early review in Consumer Reports said touchscreens in cars can be distracting for drivers. The number of physical buttons on the Tesla Model 3 and Y hasn’t changed since launch, but for some drivers he may be able to alleviate this problem with accessories such as Ctrl-Bar.
