“Maybe we deleted too much:” Tesla to bring back indicator stalk for Model 3

Tesla was one of the first brands to remove many physical buttons from its cars and with the launch of the refreshed Model 3, but some believe it went too far when it decided to remove indicator stalks from the steering wheel as well.

Now, reports from China are surfacing that Tesla will bring the indicator stalk back into the Model 3 sedan later this year.

Tesla observer and a normally reliable source of Tesla vehicle insights, Chris Zheng, broke the news on X: “The Model 3 will soon add a turn signal stalk.”

This update comes just over a month after Tesla unveiled the refreshed Model Y which did keep an indicator stalk, even though many thought that the stalk was gone from mainstream Tesla vehicles for ever.

In a recent interview with Jay Leno, Tesla’s senior vice president of engineering, Lars Moravy touched on why Tesla bought the stalk back: “We always say at Tesla, if you aren’t deleting so much that you have to put something back, you have’t deleted enough. Well, maybe we deleted too much.”

On the current generation of Model 3, the indicators are operated by buttons on the steering wheel.

Some have reported that it can be difficult to cancel the indicator signal if leaving roundabouts but in our experience, it doesn’t take long to get used to the indicators with that setup.

Since the launch of the refreshed Model 3, Tesla has seen lower volumes in the Australian market and in 2024, Tesla saw just over 17,000 sales of the once best selling EV in the country. In January, Model 3 sales plunged more than 60 per cent below the same month a year earlier.

The crown for the best-selling EV sits with Tesla’s very own Model Y, which was the world’s number one selling model.

On that car, Tesla has kept the stalk and if the latest reports are anything to go by, the Model 3 could feature the popular physical stalk too. Just don’t get your hopes up on the gear selection stalk, because that’s unlikely to make a return.