Tesla secretly "reduced the allocation" of domestic Model 3/Y steering parts that said it would not affect safety

On February 8, it was reported that two Tesla employees revealed information, and the company's internal communication records exposed by local media in the United States showed:

In response to chip supply shortages and fourth-quarter delivery targets, Tesla decided to remove some of the steering components on the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla did not disclose the relevant information, but it has affected tens of thousands of cars delivered to customers in China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and other parts of Europe. It's unclear whether Tesla will make similar changes to cars that are made in or shipped to the United States.

This component is an electronic control unit in an electric power steering system that converts the steering wheel's rotation signal into the vehicle's wheel steering. Previously, cars relied on mechanical devices to transmit steering, which was done by turning the motor, steering rack, and pinion.

Tesla internal employees said that upgrading to L3 level autonomous driving capabilities will require two electronic control unit systems, so the car will need to be modified during service access.

The L3 feature allows drivers to use tesla hands-free driving in normal driving scenarios. Tesla also said the change would not pose a safety issue because the removed parts belonged to the "secondary electronic control unit" and were mainly used to support spare functions.

And tesla internally, there have been discussions on this issue, whether to disclose to customers, employees also discussed whether after removal, will reduce the functionality or reliability of the car.

But in the end, Tesla decided that the adjustment would not notify customers at least until the "L3 level" self-driving feature was introduced.

For now, Tesla still uses L2-level assisted driving features, namely Autopilot and FSD, without the need for dual-control steering.

If Tesla launches an upgraded version of the FSD, owners of the system will need to go to the Tesla service center for bogie modifications.