US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has filed a patent application pertaining to a new power assist steering system for its vehicles. The company has claimed that its new power assist steering system is more compact as well as more power-efficient than other steering systems.

The filing of the new patent application by Tesla indicates the automakers’ apparent efforts to enhance the efficiency of the sub-systems of its electric vehicles, instead of focusing only on the vehicles’ powertrain. Towards that end, recent reports have revealed that Tesla is working on in-house development of a “more efficient” seat design with a temperature-control system.

The new power assist steering system being patented by Tesla has been designed by the company’s longtime mechanical design engineer Mark Kaufman. In the past, Kaufman has designed numerous wheels, as well as “the upper frame for the Falcon Door on the Model X.”

Tesla has described the new power assist steering system in detail in its patent application.

Overall, Tesla has highlighted in the application that the new power assist steering system is “a compact unit that consumes lesser space as compared to other steering systems that are commercially available in markets.” Tesla has specifically asserted that huge amount of additional power is not required for operating the new steering system.