Tesla has announced that the Screen Tilt Wars have begun for new Model S and Model X owners. As reported last week, a new patent filing by the EV brand suggested that an electrically adjustable mounting for the infotainment screen was set to be introduced in some of its cars. The idea has now been showcased on the company's Instagram account, showing that three preset directions are included in the feature.

At the simple push of a button on the screen, users will be able to tilt the screen to the left or right, which, as the below video suggests, may lead to some possessive battles between the driver and the front passenger. To keep things neutral, the screen can rest in its standard straightforward position.

The aforementioned patent filing suggested that the new feature would be a bit more intuitive as it boasted the function of moving along a verticle axis to give the display multiple position options. This feature was also broken down by a YouTuber who took the dash apart a few months ago and identified the device used to rotate the screen.

Tesla also suggested that its new screen would be able to identify the optimal angle for users by using a camera to detect a person's height, weight, eye direction, and more. It was suggested that these positions could be saved as presets to driver profiles so that they would automatically revert to the determined position when a specific user enters the car.

Is this a useful innovation or simply another gimmick that could further alienate some loyal customers? We think it could be both, as this feature is not going to radicalize your driving experience but could improve ergonomics and even safety.

As mentioned at the outset, the new swiveling screen will be available in all new Model S and Model X examples purchased. The post does not clarify whether the feature can be retrofitted into current cars, but the aforementioned teardown of a Tesla's dash showed that some vehicles have already shipped with much of the hardware required for this feature. Also not mentioned but visible in the video is a rear-seat screen in the back of the center console, which is expected to soon offer more usable screen surface area. We expect that this will be formally announced soon.