On February 8, the information disclosed by the two employees and the internal communication records of the company seen by the local media in the United States showed that under the pressure of coping with the shortage of chip supply and achieving the sales target in the fourth quarter, Tesla decided to remove a steering part on some Chinese made model 3 and model y < p > Tesla did not disclose relevant information, but this has affected tens of thousands of vehicles delivered to customers in China, Australia, the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe. It is unclear whether Tesla will make similar changes to cars produced or shipped to the United States < p > this component is the electronic control unit in the electric power steering system, which converts the movement of the steering wheel into wheel turning. Before that, cars relied on electric pumps, steering racks and pinions to convert the movement of the steering wheel into turning action < p > Tesla said that this change will not bring safety problems, because the removed parts belong to the "secondary electronic control unit", which is mainly used to support standby functions < p > two employees disclosed that when Tesla decided to remove the electronic control unit from the bogie, there was an internal discussion on whether to notify the customer. Employees also discussed whether removing the component would reduce the functionality or reliability of the vehicle, and they were concerned that the removal of the component might interfere with the customer's ability to use the FSD < p > < / P > < p > finally, Tesla decided that customers would not be notified of this adjustment until the company was ready to launch "L3" (i.e. hands-free driving assistance). Tesla can still use the current L2 driver assistance driving system, namely autopilot and FSD, without the need for dual control steering system < p > If Tesla launches a more complex FSD upgrade, owners using the system will need to go to Tesla Service Center for bogie modification < p > < / P > < p > the move also shows that Tesla has to make difficult changes to keep its factories and sales running normally in the last few weeks of 2021, because the world is facing the impact of continuous chip supply shortage, which has affected many fields from cars to laptops

also means that Tesla can't turn all of its existing cars into autopilot just by updating the software, which seems to be inconsistent with what the Elon Musk chief executive said recently at the earnings call conference. / Elon Mask P>

musk said earlier: "my personal guess is that we will achieve full automatic driving this year, and its safety level is obviously higher than that of individuals. Therefore, the existing cars can be upgraded by software to become an autopilot. I think this may become an example of the largest asset value growth in any asset class in history." p> < p > recently musk wrote on Twitter: "God, this year's supply chain is a nightmare, and it's not over yet!" < p > Tesla has struggled with manufacturing challenges since its inception, but its Shanghai plant helped it increase production, expand profit margins and gain more market share outside North America after its completion in 2019. The above decision shows that Tesla is facing new pressure as it further enters the mainstream market and is committed to fulfilling Musk's commitment to the future of autonomous driving < p > remove part function < / P > < p > Richard Wallace is the chief consultant of Hwa analysis company and a senior traffic safety researcher, He explained the change: "of course, there is still a mechanical component. But in today's cars, when you 'turn the steering wheel', you provide an electronic signal to the car to tell it to drive left or right." < p > Wallace pointed out that today's electric power steering system also realizes driver assistance functions, such as the ability to automatically keep the car in the middle of the lane. Tesla removed this component because engineers thought it was redundant and was mainly installed as a backup system. Eliminating the control unit will also save Tesla money in the short term, provided that there will be no problems after changing the system < p > Tesla has a precedent of removing car components before. For example, last spring, the company removed the lumbar support components of model 3 and model y passenger seats in order to reduce costs < p > on January 26, 2021, musk said on the earnings conference call that Tesla faced "many chip supply hell" in 2021. He pointed out that it is difficult for companies to obtain "small chips that enable you to move your seat back and forth" and other "basic chips". But he did not mention the changes in the power steering system < p > other car manufacturers have taken similar measures, but usually temporarily remove options that are not core functions of the car. For example, General Motors said in March 2021 that some of its 2021 light pickup trucks under production had no fuel management module, which affected the fuel economy of these trucks. The company blamed the move on a shortage of chips < p > autonomous driving in the future < / P > < p > Tesla currently provides several levels of driver assistance in its cars. Each car is equipped with a basic version called autopilot, and owners can purchase a more advanced version called "fully automatic driving" (FSD) for $12000 (or $199 per month) < p > FSD does not see obvious market demand in China. Tesla internal communication records show that among all Tesla customers in China, only slightly more than 1% choose to buy FSD kit when ordering new cars < p > vehicle safety < / P > < p > Hwa analytics analyst Wallace was asked whether the electronic control unit in the power steering system of modern vehicles will bring safety risks? "If something like a chip or ECU doesn't provide additional functions, it can be turned off or ignored in case of redundancy. With chips and software, there is more room for maneuver, and many things can be readjusted," he said < p > Phil amsrud, senior chief analyst at IHS Markit, said that this largely depends on the computing architecture of the vehicle. "I can't think of any automaker that would say, 'you know, we're going to remove a component from that module, and even if it has a reason to exist, we want nothing to happen,'" he said. "The shift from dual chip to single chip can make the system simpler and do better in some cases, but Tesla really needs to do a lot of validation." < p > amsrud estimates that most carmakers will spend more than 1000 hours to make major changes ?
2023-03-22 10:04:50