Gary Zhou 
A Tesla Model S Plaid has been spotted with a new version of the now infamous yoke steering wheel, as well as a few other changes.
A photo of a pre-production Tesla Model S Plaid sedan in the wild was posted by car enthusiast @AaronS5_. He found that the Model S Plaid’s yoke steering wheel had been slightly modified. Unlike previous vehicles, there were ridges next to the scroll wheels, and the scroll wheels were matte.
Elon Musk stated in his Q1 earnings call that Tesla was making changes to the Model S Plaid while refining its performance. During the call, Musk confirmed that “quite a bit of development” had gone into making sure the new Model S/batteries X’s were safe. Musk also stated that Tesla was fine-tuning the cars it had already made.
One of the refinements Tesla seems to have made is visible in the new Model S Plaid spotted on the streets. The Kilowatts, a Tesla fan, claims the ridges operate similarly to the ridges on a qwerty keyboard’s “F” and “J” keys. The bumps on the “F” and “J” keys aid in proper finger placement on the keyboard, allowing users to type without looking down. The ridges on the Model S Plaid’s yoke steering wheel could then aid drivers in locating the capacitive buttons on both sides of the yoke.
When compared to a Plaid Model S that was recently spotted in San Francisco, the one in Florida does show some variations. New defrost lines around the Plaid Model S’s front cameras were also exposed in more recent images. Tesla can make more subtle changes to its top-tier sedan until Model S Plaid deliveries begin.
Watch the video below to learn more about the potential function on the ridges in the Model S Plaid’s yoke steering wheel!
