The lack of physical buttons for many items, such as volume/temp/lights/wipers, along with no screen in front of the driver are still deal breakers for me. Everything else are annoyances, like the lack of proper signal stalks, gear shifter.... that I likely could ignore.
Volume has a physical control. It is the left scroll wheel on the steering wheel. Roll up/down for volume, rock left/right for track/station/source advance/reverse, push for mute.
Temp is always displayed at the bottom of the screen. Tap and slide left/right. It is also available through voice control activated by pushing the voice control button on the steering wheel. When someone is seated in the front passenger seat, a second temperature control appears on their side of the screen. Heated/ventalated front seats and heated steering wheel have an auto mode that works with the climate control setting and cabin temperature. Controls can also be placed on the bottom of the screen or they can be controlled via voice.
Lights are automatic. Flashing the high-beams displays a control for off/on/auto.
Wipers are automatic. Pushing the wipe button on the steering wheel displays a control for off/low/high/auto.
The speed is in the corner near the driver. My first test drive was specifically to see how natural that was and it's fine.
Turn signal is a stalk. Not sure what is not proper about it. Many cars have stalks that don't physically latch when activated. The auto cancel function is not tied to steering wheel movement. It figures out when it should cancel based on context. For example, when changing lanes it cancels when the lane change is complete, unless you changed into a turn lane, then it stays on until the turn is complete. They have also put the stalk back into all of the cars from which it had been removed.
Gear selector is frequently automatic based on context. Swipe up/down on the screen when the auto function doesn't select the gear you want. (I don't have this and haven't tried it)
As far as controls go, since all of your settings are tied to your keycard or phone, once you set them they are always reset for you. It is rare that anything has to be adjusted.
The one point I have a question on is if Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are deal breakers for me.
I used Android Auto on my previous cars. Tesla's interface is better, IMO. It's very similar to an iPad and, like an iPad, maintains consistency throughout the interface.
The navigation is fully integrated with the car for trip planning, charging, FSD, location information, and traffic information.
For audio, I use the Spotify app almost exclusively. Apple Music, Tidal, Apple Music/Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, LiveOne, TuneIn, YouTube Music, FM, and Sirius XM Radio are also available. New audio apps have been added over time. Bluetooth audio is also available and is well integrated for play/pause/skip, etc. using the steering wheel or voice controls.
For video, when you're not driving, or for those in the back seat, you can stream video from Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Hulu, Twitch, HBO GO, HBO MAX, Paramount+, MTV (is that shutting down?), TV Land, Comedy Central, Crunchyroll, Plex, and Peacock. I don't even know what some of those are.
You may not like the clean, minimalist design but many of us do. That's why it's good to have choices. A car you're never driven before filled with physical controls can be confusing, too, until you figure out where they are and how they work. The Mach-E might be a better choice for someone who like physical controls.
Same thing for the 1-pedal driving, I really detest it. I have yet to find a car brand does it well that does not drive me bonkers.
