Generally speaking, when an automaker does something silly with an electric car, we reflexively look toward Tesla. But they’re not the one’s behind this news beat, Toyota has patented a system for giving electric vehicles a manual transmission.

The folks over at the Toyota BZ Forum have discovered a series of patent applications by the automaker. They detail a system allowing users to control a shifter in an EV. Since electric vehicles don’t exactly have a gearbox, the shifter would instead influence the powertrain through the system software. The vehicle would take the shifter position and use it to emulate a manual experience. This includes things like clutch pressure, shift reaction force, and even simulated stalling.

Just to be clear, here’s why this is ridiculous: the entire concept of a transmission in a combustion engine vehicle is to allow the vehicle to maintain higher wheel speeds without having to reach unsustainable levels of RPM in the engine. But that’s not how electric cars work. With motor propulsion systems, there is no engine, and electric motors handle higher RPMs differently. That’s why driving an electric feels different. The torque is instantaneous, and there isn’t an acceleration drop off at higher RPMs that would necessitate a gear box.

Long story short: electric vehicle have zero need for a manual transmission.

We understand that manuals are a classic function in the automotive world, and that plenty of folks have a special liking for that. But emulating a manual transmission in an electric car is just silly.