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>- "Our Model 3 general assembly line consists of fewer than 50 steps, which is about 70% less than conventional assembly lines. All Model 3 vehicles use only o
by avs733 9y ago
>- "Our Model 3 general assembly line consists of fewer than 50 steps, which is about 70% less than conventional assembly lines. All Model 3 vehicles use only one standard body frame, down from more than 80 for Model S, a wiring harness that has 50% less mass than average vehicles, and a fraction of the number of controllers, connectors and CPUs."
There is a lot to unpack in this statement...
I find it hard to believe there were 80 unique body models for the model S. The S has 3 major trims and about 3 major options that could even theoretically change things like wiring harnesses or body panels. This seems to me another Elon overstatement (air resistance and heat and robots oh my...).
also, re his later subcontractors comment. I have been given the impression here and by industry friends that subcontractors are increasingly unwilling to work with them.
- secabeen 9y agoThere's also a lot of different homologation requirements to sell in different markets. That could blow out the number of models.
- avs733 9y agofair, hadn't considered that. Still...80...? He's not saying exterior panels or different parts...he basically said frames. Even if we assume that they (insanely) have significant different bodies for each trim of the S, that means they have >25 different version of the design. That can't be right. This is all the reason why major auto manufacturers have product 'architectures'.
- hinkley 9y agoCould he be including revisions in those numbers? There were six battery sizes on this vehicle. The largest is almost twice the size of the smallest. They may have modified the design several times to either fit or support different battery configurations. Maybe some unplanned changes around 120/230V and safety?
- varjag 9y agoAlso 2wd/4wd powertrains that could require chassis mods too. In combinations with above could easily be dozens of versions.
- seibelj 9y agoI seriously doubt that Tesla would make a misstatement in an earnings announcement given the massive penalties that would incur...
- ucaetano 9y ago> I seriously doubt that Tesla would make a misstatement in an earnings announcement given the massive penalties that would incur... Not really, a lot of the statements are covered by the safe harbor "forward looking statements".
- dragonwriter 9y agoThe number of unique Model S body frames is not a forward looking statement by any reasonable definition.
- tw04 9y agoIt is when you're implying that ramping up model 3 production will be easier because of what you previously accomplished.
- dragonwriter 9y agoNo, the claim about future Model 3 production may be forward looking, but the claim about the number of Model S body frames that do (not will in the future) exist and the comparison to the number of Model 3 frames that exist doesn't magically become forward-looking because it supports a forward looking claim.
- Someone 9y agoI’m not a lawyer, but I doubt many statements in the past tense would fall under the “forward looking” umbrella.
- rifung 9y agoTo be honest, I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or serious. I'm guessing serious? I don't think it would be unusual for them to make a statement that while technically true is misleading.