1871
VW Is Putting Buttons Back in Cars Because People Complained Enough
(www.thedrive.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
The first focus group to try out a touch screen in a car was like "ooh, novel!", then they didn't have a second focus group ever after. The end.
Touchscreens in Cars, a short story.
They just copied everything Tesla did when they decided to start making electric cars, including the really idiotic stuff. As to why Tesla did that, Musk probably fired anyone that dared question his ideas.
Touch screens in cars were everywhere well before Tesla.