How do you grab a parking ticket through the passenger window from the boxes at the parking entrance or toll booths when driving a left-hand-drive (LHD) car in the United Kingdom? Tesla drivers get a mechanic grabbing arm called ‘The Reacher’ with their left-hand-drive-only Model S or X these days to solve the problem.

In May 2021, Tesla announced it would stop making the Model S and Model X with right-hand drive to streamline production, resulting in these models aren’t any longer available in countries like Australia. Customers in the UK who already preordered one had the option to cancel, get a right-hand drive (RHD) Model 3 or Y with a £2 000 rebate, or get an LHD version of the car.

Not uncommon for the British

In Europe and China, the redesigned S and X models were reintroduced LHD only. But in countries like the United Kingdom, you still can buy and drive a left-hand-drive car, which is not uncommon for the British. After all, Europeans crossing the channel with their cars do the same.

But for the Brits used to sit on the right side of the car, it presents some typical challenges. How do you grab a parking ticket, present a company badge, or pay with coins at a toll booth when sitting on the ‘wrong’ left side of the car with no passenger to do it for you and without stepping out?

In those cases, you would wish for meter-longer – or should we say three-foot longer – arms for reaching through the passengers’ window. That’s exactly what Tesla is providing now with a company-branded ‘The Reachter’. A (foldable) meter-long mechanic arm with a ‘pinching’ hand on one end is bundled with the cars in the UK. Problem solved.