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How is it acceptable to deliver a car with doors that don't close?

userbinator 6y ago
More curiously, how is it acceptable to even let that leave the factory? This is just pure WTF!?: They said the car was too heavy for its suspension components. Both the lower and upper wishbone in my Model X cracked due to the heavy weight. EVs are new so one could expect some roughness around those parts, but the basics like body/frame/suspension have been around for more than half a century. I wonder if you went to buy a car 60-70 years ago, from one of the Big Three, what were the chances of getting one with such defects?
- t0mas88 6y ago
  Tesla is a great software company with unique battery technology, but they are in no way a good car company. Even the expensive model S has terrible build quality compared to the entry level models of the typical German brands. I'm curious whether they can fix this on time, because VW is making progress on the EV side of things and several other big car brands aren't far behind.
  - carlhjerpe 6y ago
    Could you point me in the direction where I can read about the unique battery technology? Charging "Li-.*" is a solved problem[1], within the same chemistry they're essentially all the same, except binning. The fact that the car doesn't fully discharge or fully charge unless asked to is nothing revolutionary. I'm a nonbeliever obviously, my opinion is that their only truly unique features is the inflated stock price. 1: https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium...
    - pengaru 6y ago
      Anode materials vary, and last I looked Tesla had a unique recipe in that department making their batteries less costly than the competitors, which I imagine enables more cells at similar cost. IIRC they used less cobalt.
      - drclau 6y ago
        Is that something that others can’t replicate, maybe due to Tesla having patents on the specifics?
- kevingadd 6y ago
  Are EVs really that new? The first Nissan Leaf came out in 2010, the Tesla Roadster began development in 2004 and launched in 2008. Other modern consumer EVs came out in 2009 or earlier. You could say "new compared to internal combustion engines" but research (and functioning prototypes, even consumer-adjacent builds) on electric cars dates back to the early 1900s of earlier. I think people need to stop cutting car manufacturers slack on this stuff, they've had time to get it right.
  - kazen44 6y ago
    also, things like doors not closing properly have nothing to do with it being an electric car. Bodywork in cars has been stamped metal for atleast 70 years, if not more. while it is a delicate and complicated process, it has been done countless of times before.
  - userbinator 6y ago
    True, EVs with brushed DC motors and lead-acid batteries are not new, but computer-controlled EVs are definitely a recent development.
sneak 6y ago
> How is it acceptable to deliver a car with doors that don't close? Ask the person who accepted it, perhaps?
- TheAdamist 6y ago
  The article is about how you don't have a choice about accepting it. It's "take it, or leave your money, and maybe we will get around to fixing it eventually".
sschueller 6y ago
Yet for what ever reason this company is worth more than any other car company that can actually produce a quality product. There is a sucker born every minute. Does any one really think their extra 6k for FSD will get switched on before the end of the cars life?

More curiously, how is it acceptable to even let that leave the factory? This is just pure WTF!?: They said the car was too heavy for its suspension components. Both the lower and upper wishbone in my Model X cracked due to the heavy weight. EVs are new so one could expect some roughness around those parts, but the basics like body/frame/suspension have been around for more than half a century. I wonder if you went to buy a car 60-70 years ago, from one of the Big Three, what were the chances of getting one with such defects?

t0mas88 6y ago
Tesla is a great software company with unique battery technology, but they are in no way a good car company. Even the expensive model S has terrible build quality compared to the entry level models of the typical German brands. I'm curious whether they can fix this on time, because VW is making progress on the EV side of things and several other big car brands aren't far behind.
- carlhjerpe 6y ago
  Could you point me in the direction where I can read about the unique battery technology? Charging "Li-.*" is a solved problem[1], within the same chemistry they're essentially all the same, except binning. The fact that the car doesn't fully discharge or fully charge unless asked to is nothing revolutionary. I'm a nonbeliever obviously, my opinion is that their only truly unique features is the inflated stock price. 1: https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium...
  - pengaru 6y ago
    Anode materials vary, and last I looked Tesla had a unique recipe in that department making their batteries less costly than the competitors, which I imagine enables more cells at similar cost. IIRC they used less cobalt.
    - drclau 6y ago
      Is that something that others can’t replicate, maybe due to Tesla having patents on the specifics?
kevingadd 6y ago
Are EVs really that new? The first Nissan Leaf came out in 2010, the Tesla Roadster began development in 2004 and launched in 2008. Other modern consumer EVs came out in 2009 or earlier. You could say "new compared to internal combustion engines" but research (and functioning prototypes, even consumer-adjacent builds) on electric cars dates back to the early 1900s of earlier. I think people need to stop cutting car manufacturers slack on this stuff, they've had time to get it right.
- kazen44 6y ago
  also, things like doors not closing properly have nothing to do with it being an electric car. Bodywork in cars has been stamped metal for atleast 70 years, if not more. while it is a delicate and complicated process, it has been done countless of times before.
- userbinator 6y ago
  True, EVs with brushed DC motors and lead-acid batteries are not new, but computer-controlled EVs are definitely a recent development.

sneak 6y ago

> How is it acceptable to deliver a car with doors that don't close? Ask the person who accepted it, perhaps?

TheAdamist 6y ago
The article is about how you don't have a choice about accepting it. It's "take it, or leave your money, and maybe we will get around to fixing it eventually".

sschueller 6y ago

Yet for what ever reason this company is worth more than any other car company that can actually produce a quality product. There is a sucker born every minute. Does any one really think their extra 6k for FSD will get switched on before the end of the cars life?