Tesla electric cars may now get swivel screens. Check out video

Tesla is reportedly shipping select models of its electric vehicles with a swivel screens that can face either the driver or the front passenger at the press of a button. While Tesla cars are famed for cutting-edge technologies and have a mile long list of features, the swivel infotainment screen has had many excited.

While a swivel screen in itself is hardly a novel innovation, it is perhaps for the first time that it has been brought within a vehicle. It is not absolutely certain though whether it is an official factory-fit or a customization job from a person called Larry Li who posted a video of the swivel function on his Twitter account. Reports suggest that Li has previously done customization on Tesla models even if he is claiming now that the swivel functionality is straight from the factory. That the swivel functionality shown in the video is controlled directly through the screen may lend some more credence to his claim.

Either way, the swivel functionality is indeed an option that car makers can explore at a time when the central display has become the main attraction for many prospective buyers. The screen size, resolution and functionalities offered form a part of bragging rights for vehicles and while voice commands too are fast catching up, it is the central display that still holds the place of prominence in the cabin of modern cars.

Tesla, on its part, has also been offering in-car gaming on the main display units and CEO Elon Musk previously said that a software update could also make video-conferencing a real possibility while being on the move.

There is a school of thought that warns that the rampant development of screen technology has the potential of distracting drivers. But largely, and the world over, the march of high-resolution display screens inside vehicles is likely to continue unabated.