A touchscreen UI is a visual medium. That is not what you want/need while operating a vehicle. You should be able to change the AC by feeling for the button and not taking your eyes off the road.
This isn't just HN being HN again. Driving enthusiasts are pushing back on touchscreens.
I'd bet most people look at the tactile buttons when adjusting them, to see the temperature, fanspeed, etc. and that the difference between this and swiping on the tesla display isn't an important difference.
I bet they don't. Muscle memory is a thing. Do you look down at your blinker lever to change it? How about your wipers? If you have controls on your steering wheel, do you look at those to press them?
I'd take that bet. The only controls I use muscle memory for are some of the steering wheel buttons (not all, e.g. I still have to look for the cruise control on/off for my F250) and the stalks. And even then, when I switch between cars I sometimes have to glance to remind myself which functionality the right stalk has. For climate controls and such, I pretty much always glance. The only knob I can reliably hit without a glance is the volume.
Maybe I've just been driving so long that the variety of cars has impeded my ability to develop muscle memory. But I doubt it.
The stuff on the steering wheel no, but the stuff on the dash (radio, aircon, fan, etc.) I did look at when I had tactile controls (this is primarily the stuff that's moved to the touchscreen, the wheel controls/levers let you do tactile actions without looking for more common stuff).
It really is not IMO.
A touchscreen UI is a visual medium. That is not what you want/need while operating a vehicle. You should be able to change the AC by feeling for the button and not taking your eyes off the road.
This isn't just HN being HN again. Driving enthusiasts are pushing back on touchscreens.