Tesla Model 3: Inside & Out - Autoline After Hours 417
Why Hacker News recommends it
Commenters link it in Tesla threads as an informed, hands-on engineering view of the Model 3 and its manufacturing.
What it is
An Autoline After Hours episode with teardown expert Sandy Munro and a panel of auto journalists. It covers his Tesla Model 3 teardown, including the battery, drive modules, build quality and manufacturing automation.
Recommended by 5 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2018 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec deelowe · 2018-07 · on “Munro Teardown Shows Tesla Model 3 Solidly Profitable [video]”
> The $35k base model made at scale later this year will be profitable Here's the thing. SV Tech companies aren't too great at the whole "at scale" manufacturing thing. Maybe Tesla can figure it out, but they need to pay more attention to what the "boring dinosaurs" are doing this this regard. If you're interested, this video is great: [this video]
Recommends csours · 2018-04 · on “To Understand the Future of Tesla, Look to the History of GM”
Another parallel: Over-automation [this video] (the whole thing is worth watching if you are into this sort of thing)
Recommends olivermarks · 2018-04 · on “Tesla's Simultaneous Brilliance and Incompetence Revealed in Teardown of Model 3”
[this video] 90 minute discussion of Tesla 3 with Munro and others on the excellent autoline network youtube channel ('Really heavy, really expensive')
Recommends tokipin · 2018-06 · on “Tesla sues ex-employee for hacking, theft, and leaking to the press”
The cells and the packs are different things. The packs aren't just a bunch of cells glued together. See this[1] fun teardown discussion. Another company building battery packs would have different costs even if they were buying the same exact cells from Panasonic, and it's likely Tesla had a hand in designing the cells so I don't know if that's particularly possible. The reason for the Gigafactory is to compress supply chains, but more importantly because there isn't enough global demand/supply for batteries to support the volumes Tesla wants. Without building their own factory, the global supply would be a constraining factor for Tesla's plans. The Gigafactory is a long-term bet that they
Recommends cepth · 2018-06 · on “Elon Musk emails employees about 'extensive and damaging sabotage' by employee”
It could certainly be that the German automakers are more concerned about present profitability. That could easily turn into falling victim to the classic innovator's dilemma. It seems that by year end, both the Model S and Model 3 will have taken significant market share from their European competitors: [LINK] . The cannibalization is real, and that's why luxury automakers like BMW have announced plans for 12 fully-electric models by 2025 ( [LINK] ). Your points about electrical infrastructure are definitely thought-provoking ones. I'd agree that the infrastructure as of today doesn't exist for widespread adoption. At the same time, the market that Tesla and the luxury European automakers c
Cites martythemaniak · 2018-04 · on “To Understand the Future of Tesla, Look to the History of GM”
There will come a time when Musk needs to step away from Tesla, but that day is not today. He's publicly mused about stepping away (SpaceX is his real fav), but had his tenure renewed recently. If all Tesla did was sell pretty good cars, they'd probably get crushed by the incumbents. Tesla, is selling way more than that - they're selling the idea of a brighter, better future. You're not just buying an EV, but you're helping climate change, you're reducing pollution, you'll be reducing human death and suffering and ending traffic jams and hey - it all comes in a exclusive, technologically-advanced, aesthetically pleasing package. Now, some might object that this is largely a bunch of marketin
Cites bsder · 2018-04 · on “To Understand the Future of Tesla, Look to the History of GM”
He also thinks that the the suspension system is amazing and comments that anything having to do with the "skateboard" (floorboards, suspension, lower chassis) are absolutely phenomenally good. So, you have a car with highly advanced electronics that drives spectacularly well but has lousy fit and finish. That combination has produced a lot of very profitable cars over the years. Basically, the stuff that can be improved gradually got pushed down on the list while the core stuff is correct from start. [this video] "Anybody that's in the car industry that ignores this car is doing it at their own peril."
Cites cowsandmilk · 2018-04 · on “Tesla's Simultaneous Brilliance and Incompetence Revealed in Teardown of Model 3”
And here's him discussing the Model 3 teardown on Autoline (don't see a link to this in the article) [this video]