Like in any modern analog car, the knobs are free spinning and therefore remember their settings. It’s a tactile version of tapping a screen that is a better UX IMHO. When my significant other uses my car, they hit #2 on the preset settings and everything slides and turns into place. This is a well solved problem and has been for many years. Note: I am a former P85D Model S owner.
“relating to or using signals or information represented by a continuously variable physical quantity such as spatial position, voltage, etc.” - from our friends at Oxford.