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I don't understand how the rearview mirrors can be up to 5X difference in price and have the same features(eg: auto dimming). Also BMW and Chevy are likely sh

by adrr 8y ago

I don't understand how the rearview mirrors can be up to 5X difference in price and have the same features(eg: auto dimming). Also BMW and Chevy are likely sharing the rearview mirror with other models so the price difference even makes less sense to me.

lgbr 8y ago
Because the mirror is otherwise extremely simple. There are no buttons or other electronics like you might find in the Bolt which would have OnStar.
- adrr 8y ago
  There isn't going to be a cellular system and cpu for on-star in the rearview mirror. It's going to be a board that probably plugs into the infotainment system board. Also model 3 rearview mirror has a camera so $24 is very suspect. https://electrek.co/2017/08/01/tesla-model-3-driver-facing-camera-autopilot-tesla-network/ https://electrek.co/2017/08/01/tesla-model-3-driver-facing-c...
  - londons_explore 8y ago
    Low res cameras are only $2-5 now anyway. https://m.alibaba.com/product/1307752426/VGA-OV7670-Camera-Module-Lens-CMOS.html?spm=a2706.7843667.1998817009.26.f8c942d4z41ejP https://m.alibaba.com/product/1307752426/VGA-OV7670-Camera-M...
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago
It's right there on the page: > Tesla Model 3 has a frameless electrochromatic mirror with no powered functionality, whereas the BMW i3 has buttons and powered functionality build-in. The Chevy Bold has powered functionality including backup camera display. So the Tesla just has a mirror with, presumably, one set of wires going to it to power the dimming. The others have buttons, electronics, a bundle of wires, and an LCD display in the case of the Bolt. The BoM difference probably isn't too terrible, but the cost of assembly, as well as testing/QC of those features, likely results in the cost difference. Extrapolating from that, I'd imagine that settling on one powerful touchscreen has saved Tesla some cost in a variety of places. Not just lowering BoM on things like buttons and electronics, but also ease of assembly, modularity, etc.
mtgx 8y ago
I believe it was in the Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (audio-)book that I heard that at least for SpaceX, but I think also for Tesla, building the components in-house came out much cheaper compared to what their competitors would have to pay for the same components. They were often more advanced, too, because the component could use whatever was most modern technology and was highly-optimized for SpaceX/Tesla's use case. In contrast, the components for other carmakers have to be much more uniform and satisfy everyone, as you said. When it's a new type of product, it usually pays to become a system integrator in order to squeeze the maximum performance out of every component in the system and benefit from the synergy. The other carmakers haven't done that yet with EVs, and they were in an even worse shape a few years ago when they were still only repackaging their ICE cars into EVs. Whenever they would do that, not only were they able to use only small battery packs inside those cars, because they weren't designed to be EVs from the ground-up, but they would also be significantly less efficient per kWh of battery pack. By the way, that book is fantastic. I highly recommend it.

by adrr 8y ago

lgbr 8y ago

Because the mirror is otherwise extremely simple. There are no buttons or other electronics like you might find in the Bolt which would have OnStar.

adrr 8y ago
There isn't going to be a cellular system and cpu for on-star in the rearview mirror. It's going to be a board that probably plugs into the infotainment system board. Also model 3 rearview mirror has a camera so $24 is very suspect. https://electrek.co/2017/08/01/tesla-model-3-driver-facing-camera-autopilot-tesla-network/ https://electrek.co/2017/08/01/tesla-model-3-driver-facing-c...
- londons_explore 8y ago
  Low res cameras are only $2-5 now anyway. https://m.alibaba.com/product/1307752426/VGA-OV7670-Camera-Module-Lens-CMOS.html?spm=a2706.7843667.1998817009.26.f8c942d4z41ejP https://m.alibaba.com/product/1307752426/VGA-OV7670-Camera-M...

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago

It's right there on the page: > Tesla Model 3 has a frameless electrochromatic mirror with no powered functionality, whereas the BMW i3 has buttons and powered functionality build-in. The Chevy Bold has powered functionality including backup camera display. So the Tesla just has a mirror with, presumably, one set of wires going to it to power the dimming. The others have buttons, electronics, a bundle of wires, and an LCD display in the case of the Bolt. The BoM difference probably isn't too terrible, but the cost of assembly, as well as testing/QC of those features, likely results in the cost difference. Extrapolating from that, I'd imagine that settling on one powerful touchscreen has saved Tesla some cost in a variety of places. Not just lowering BoM on things like buttons and electronics, but also ease of assembly, modularity, etc.

mtgx 8y ago

I believe it was in the Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (audio-)book that I heard that at least for SpaceX, but I think also for Tesla, building the components in-house came out much cheaper compared to what their competitors would have to pay for the same components. They were often more advanced, too, because the component could use whatever was most modern technology and was highly-optimized for SpaceX/Tesla's use case. In contrast, the components for other carmakers have to be much more uniform and satisfy everyone, as you said. When it's a new type of product, it usually pays to become a system integrator in order to squeeze the maximum performance out of every component in the system and benefit from the synergy. The other carmakers haven't done that yet with EVs, and they were in an even worse shape a few years ago when they were still only repackaging their ICE cars into EVs. Whenever they would do that, not only were they able to use only small battery packs inside those cars, because they weren't designed to be EVs from the ground-up, but they would also be significantly less efficient per kWh of battery pack. By the way, that book is fantastic. I highly recommend it.