NHTSA Complaint #11496015 — 2014 TESLA MODEL S

Tesla has, by design, altered a safety feature in existing cars (via a software update) that decreases safety when defogging is needed. When I purchased my 2014 Tesla Model S, the defog could be turned on or off with the press of a button that was always visible on the touchscreen. Recently, Tesla made a major change to the user interface (version 11), that cannot be reverted, which removed the defog button. It now takes about 4-7 steps to activate and then turn off the defog. The new system also requires viewing pop-up window(s) while driving. Now, when you notice visibility is decreasing due to a fogged up windshield, you have to press the temperature (e.g. "70") twice, which brings up the full climate control window (if you press slightly high/low, a "Climate Popup" instead appears, with button located in different locations). You then have to scan for the defog button and press it. To turn it off, if it has been less than 10 seconds since you turned it on (often all you need), the window will still be there, and you can press the "climate off" button to turn it off. After 10 seconds, you have to repeat the same 2-3 steps used to turn it on. However, if the Climate Popup appears rather than the full window, you need to start over again to turn the climate control off (otherwise, a bug causes the climate control to stay on when you turn the defog off). A new version (not available for my car) reportedly has a workaround, but the defog button needs to have a permanent location on the screen like before, by default. My concern is that this software update will get people into (or has gotten people into) "distracted driving" accidents as they have to look at the screen about 4-7 times while driving, rather than the minimal 2 times that the old user interface allowed.