Tesla was exposed to "reduce the allocation" of some domestic Model 3/Y steering components

According to CNBC, two Tesla employees revealed that "in order to cope with the shortage of chip supply and achieve the fourth quarter delivery target, Tesla decided to remove some of the steering parts on the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y."

The Model 3 and Model Y, produced by Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, may be affected by the reduction, and tens of thousands of cars will be sold to China, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and other European countries and regions.

"Tesla also said that this change will not pose a driving safety issue, because the removed parts belong to the 'secondary electronic control unit' and are mainly used to support backup functions." For now, Tesla still uses L2-level assisted driving features, namely Autopilot and FSD, without the need for a dual-control steering system."

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. Prior to this, the car relied on a mechanical device to transmit steering, which was done by turning the motor, steering rack, and pinion.

Tesla has discussed "whether to disclose it to users" on this issue, and employees have also discussed "whether it will reduce the functionality or reliability of the car after removal." But in the end, Tesla decided that the adjustment would not notify customers at least until the "L3 level self-driving" feature was introduced.

According to the two Tesla employees, "if Tesla launches an upgraded version of the FSD, owners of the system will need to make bogie modifications from the Tesla service center." As for Tesla removing the component, engineers believe it is actually redundant, mostly installed as a backup. Omitting the control unit would also save Tesla money in the short term, as long as there are no problems after the system changes.

It usually takes more than four months for an automaker to test and validate major changes to a car. It took Tesla only a few weeks to decide to remove the electronic control unit. In May last year, Tesla was exposed to remove the Model 3/Y seat waist support function to reduce costs.

At a recent earnings report meeting, Musk said cautiously that "in the coming year, although the chip shortage problem will ease, it will still be a problem." He warned that supply chain constraints could drag down the company's overall performance until 2022. The next year is a top priority for Tesla to maximize capacity and production throughout the supply chain.