KL
Tesla | In-Car Experience Redesign
UI/UX Case Study
Improving driver interaction through a safer, more intuitive touchscreen experience
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Tesla is widely recognized for its software-first approach to automotive design, replacing traditional buttons with a minimalist touchscreen interface.
While this creates a clean and futuristic interface, it also introduces challenges when drivers need to access critical information quickly while maintaining focus on the road. This project explores how Tesla’s touchscreen experience can be redesigned to make common actions more discoverable, reduce interaction effort, and provide a more personalized driving experience.
My goal to explore was, how might we create a touchscreen experience that feels more intuitive, reduces interaction complexity, and improves driver confidence?
ROLE
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UI/UX Researcher
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Product Designer
TOOLS
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Figma
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Adobe Creative Suite
Observed UX Challenges
Challenge 01
Making Favorite Destinations Easier to Discover
Saving destinations as Favorites lacks discoverability
When navigating to a destination, the option to save a location as a Favorite is not immediately visible from the primary navigation experience. Users need to explore additional interactions before discovering this function.
Although the feature exists, its placement creates unnecessary friction for a commonly used action.
User Impact
Users may not realize the Favorite feature is availableSaving frequently visited locations requires additional effortRepeated destinations are less accessible for future trips
Design Challenges
After spending time using Tesla's touchscreen in everyday driving scenarios, I conducted a heuristic evaluation of three frequently used interfaces: Navigation, Music, and Climate Controls. While Tesla delivers an intuitive and visually refined experience overall, I identified several opportunities to improve discoverability, efficiency, and user control without compromising its minimalist design philosophy.
Navigation (Map)
Current Strengths
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Responsive pinch-to-zoom interaction
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Real-time traffic visualization
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Integrated Supercharger locations
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Clear visual hierarchy
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Smooth route recalculation
Observed UX Challenges
Saving destinations as Favorites lacks discoverability
The Add to Favorites function is not immediately visible from the primary navigation screen. Users must navigate through additional interactions, increasing the effort required for a common task.
Climate Controls (A/C)
Current Strengths
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Temperature split control
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Free control of A/C flow direction
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Options for Off / Keep / Dog / Camp
Observed UX Challenges
Unable to split temperature control between driver and passenger seats
Continuous wind temperature, need to set a desired temp value to control the temp
SPOTIFY / MUSIC
Current Strengths
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Tone / Balance / Options/ Sources
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Enhanced audio settings
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Expanded immersive audio
Observed UX Challenges
Unable to view the lyrics for the music.
Clicking the Spotify logo in the top left takes you to the Spotify Home.
The “Now Playing” icon could be more intuitive; the current icon resembles a playlist icon.
Overall Design Objectives
Across all three features, my redesign is guided by the following UX principles:
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Improve discoverability by making frequently used actions easier to find.
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Reduce interaction cost by minimizing the number of taps required for common tasks.
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Support driver safety by limiting visual and cognitive distraction.
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Preserve Tesla's minimalist design language through contextual interactions rather than additional interface clutter.
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Design for scalability so future features can be integrated without disrupting the existing experience.
