According to foreign media reports, according to Tesla's internal documents and two employees, Tesla has cut some of the steering components of the vehicle. Specifically, Tesla has reduced the electronic control components of the steering machine from the original two to one.
The role of this component is to convert the electric signal of the driver's operation on the steering wheel into the steering action of the vehicle.
Of course, Tesla said that the steering parts removed this time are spare parts. Before the vehicle was upgraded to L3 autonomous driving, as long as the electronic control components were not damaged, 1 part was enough for daily use, including support for the L2 level intelligent driving function currently launched by Tesla.
So in order to alleviate the impact of semiconductor shortages on production capacity and save the cost of bicycles, Tesla decided to cancel this part that was considered redundant.
Currently, the cuts to the component include China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and other European markets, but it is uncertain whether vehicles manufactured or sold in North America have been affected.
Tesla China's response to this incident is: "Every one of the factories is in line with national regulations", so I guess that the parts that will be reduced will not be reloaded in the future.
Of course, after the L3 level automatic driving function is officially launched, if the vehicle is equipped with an FSD, Tesla will reload this steering component to ensure the use of the automatic driving function.
Although Tesla has repeatedly emphasized that the purpose of this electronic component is to be redundant at present. But not afraid of ten thousand is afraid of just in case, if there is really a vehicle electronic parts in the future in the driving damage, and because there is no spare parts and the vehicle can not be steered, if a car accident occurs, such a safety hazard is not big?
Tesla's "History of Deduplication"
Of course, this incident is not the first time Tesla has been reduced, since the listing of Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla has not only made multiple price adjustments, but also undergone many "reductions".
According to incomplete statistics, since March 2020, Tesla has reduced allocations in the global market about 8 times. The functions and parts involved include autonomous driving chips, millimeter-wave radar, USB interfaces, waist supports, motors, etc., of which 5 are related to the Chinese market.
The most famous reduction is about the automatic driving chip, on the eve of "3.15" in 2020, some car owners broke out that the autopilot chip of the Model 3 they just mentioned was HW 2.5, which was not consistent with the HW 3.0 marked on the vehicle environmental protection information.
Although Tesla said that for vehicles without optional FSD functions, HW 2.5 and HW 3.0 are no different in use, but "de-allocation" has become a fact. In the end, Tesla chose to replace the owner in need for free to cope with this "reduction door".
However, with the impact of the lack of cores on the global automobile manufacturing industry, Tesla's "reduction door" is still staged.
Especially since May last year, Tesla has first canceled the millimeter wave radar on models in the North American market, which also means that Tesla's intelligent driving and future autopilot functions will rely entirely on cameras, which strengthens Tesla's determination to adopt a pure visual solution.
Subsequently, Tesla reduced the seat function of the vehicle and eliminated the co-driver waist rest in the global market. However, because the seat mold has not changed, in the current Model 3 and Model Y co-drivers, you can still see the hole of the lumbar adjustment button.
In November last year, Tesla also reduced the USB interface to varying degrees. The North American market directly canceled part of the USB interface, leaving only the opening hole, but Tesla said that it will refill the USB interface for this part of the vehicle in the future. Although the models in the Chinese market did not cancel the USB interface, they castrated the data transmission function and only retained the charging function.
This also means that devices such as gamepads and USB sticks will not be available on these models, and Tesla will not provide refills or upgrades.
In addition, some car owners have found that the overseas version of the Model 3 or Model Y is equipped with knee airbags, but the Chinese version does not. Although the models provided to different countries and different regions will indeed have certain differences in configuration, they should be the same in terms of safety attributes, and it is indeed a reduction in the Chinese market that is not equipped with knee airbags.
De-allocation, not only Tesla
Having said so much about Tesla's downsizing incident, if I don't say something about other brands, I feel that not only Tesla fans can't sit still, but other neutral friends must have something to say.
In fact, about the "reduction" of vehicles, it is indeed quite common, especially under the influence of lack of cores today.
For example, BMW has been exposed to lack of cores, so it will be reduced to the central control screen touch screen function of some models in the North American market. And the models involved include not only entry-level models, but also flagship SUVs like the BMW X7.
Know that the vast majority of new cars are now reducing physical buttons and concentrating functionality on the touch screen. However, BMW has done the opposite, choosing to cancel the touch screen, and the impact of this reduction seems to be much greater than Tesla's reduction of USB and waist rest.
Other models will also have more "reductions" in the mid-term modification.
However, the "reduction" at this time is mostly because the vehicle has experienced a long test in the market, and the car company will optimize its cost. Therefore, the reduction at this time generally does not have much impact on the use of vehicles, and will be accompanied by a decline in prices, which is still beneficial to consumers.
Finally, let's talk about Tesla's steering parts reduction this time, which also includes the reason for cost control. After all, the Model 3 has been on the market for 4 years, Tesla may have found that this electronic component is almost undamaged, and the previous redundant design is not too necessary, so it has made this cut.