Odd steering wheel and controls trip up Tesla, rivals -Consumer Reports

FILE PHOTO: A row of Tesla Model S sedans are seen outside the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California April 30, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo

DETROIT (Reuters) - Automakers are adopting new technology and designs for vehicle controls faster than ever, but that does not always make consumers happy, according to a new ranking of automotive brands by Consumer Reports.

Tesla Inc's new "yoke" steering wheel installed in Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles is so difficult to use that it dropped the most valuable automaker's position in the Consumer Reports annual car brand rankings by seven spots to 23rd place - below average, the independent testing organization said on Thursday.