China is bringing buttons back to cars, ending trend led by Tesla

This one is about cars, not home energy upgrades, but here's the gist. China has finalized a rule requiring automakers to include physical buttons for 19 safety-related functions in vehicles, rather than burying them in touchscreens. These include turn signals, hazard lights, the horn, gear shifter, wipers, defroster, power windows, the emergency call system, and the power-off switch for EVs. The idea is that if a car's screen freezes or crashes, drivers still need a way to signal, see out the windshield, or turn the car off. The rule takes effect July 1, 2027, with a grace period likely for cars already certified.

This reverses a trend led by Tesla, which built its interior design around a central touchscreen and eventually moved things like the gear shifter and wiper controls onto it. Other automakers, especially Chinese EV makers, followed. Some companies, including Volkswagen and Tesla itself, have already started walking this back after customer complaints, adding buttons or offering retrofit stalks in some markets.

Europe has a related rule: cars need physical controls for certain functions to earn the top safety rating from Euro NCAP, the group that crash-tests and rates vehicle safety there. Whether the US follows China's lead is unclear, since American regulators have moved slower on this kind of rule. For now, this doesn't affect home energy programs or rebates, just how new cars are built.