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Tesla Teardown Reveals Driver-facing Electronics Built By iPhone 6 Suppliers
Lucas123 writes: The Tesla Model S gets attention because it's an EV that can go from from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.2 seconds and can travel 265 miles on a single charge. But, a teardown of the vehicle by IHS Technology has also revealed that Elon Musk avoided third-party design and build routes used traditionally by auto makers and spared no expense on the instrument cluster and infotainment (head unit) system, which is powered by two 1.4Ghz, quad-core NVIDIA Tegra processors. IHS called the Tesla's head unit the most sophisticated it's ever seen, with 1,000 more components than any it has previously analyzed. A bill of materials for the virtual instrument cluster and the premium media control unit is also roughly twice the cost of the highest-end infotainment unit examined by IHS.
"powered by two 3, 1.4Ghz, quad-core NVIDIA Tegra processors"
Couldn't find those details in TFA, but from (the much more readable) article at: http://recode.net/2014/10/14/w...
seems to imply that should read:
"powered by two 1.4Ghz, quad-core NVIDIA Tegra processors"
"Two NVIDIA Tegra processor modules are at the heart of the electronic components in the Model S, which "command a sizable price tag," according to Rassweiler. Here is a look at how they work."
Um no... Nearly all of Tegra3's design wins (including 2012 Nexus 7) were due to it being cheap...
Also, how is this news? It's been known for ages that the Tesla HU used Tegra3. http://www.theinquirer.net/inq... (March 2013) - and I've seen documentation dating back as far as 2012 that Tesla was using the T3.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
No. The question was 'what is Tesla bringing to the table that you think makes it more than "nicer trim and a few extra parts"?'.
And, frankly, if you need to ask what Tesla brings to the table, you haven't been reading much /. lately. A week doesn't go by without 5 Tesla articles.
What Tesla brings to the table are:
A complete electric drive train
Performance to rival a sports car/supercar (depending which options you get)
Free charging at their superchargers for the life of the vehicle
Battery sizes that are considered best in class, if not best in any class
A modern UI on the dashboard with free updates both to the UI as well as the mapping system (so far)
A good warranty (8 year, unlimited mile?)
Handling that's adjustable, from as smooth as a Lexus to as stiff as a sports car
[I'm sure there's more that I can't think of currently]
As for what makes it a luxury car, I'm not really sure. Probably it's price.
The leather quality isn't as good as other luxury cars I've been in
Ditto the stitching
Other than that, I can't think of anything that's considered standard in a luxury car that the Tesla doesn't have.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
1. Any car can be self-driving. SUCCESSFULLY self-driving is something entirely different. Does the Telsa have the full suite of sensors (including LIDAR) that the Google self-driving vehicles have?
2. The new "autopilot" feature will NOT be available on the existing base - it's just for cars being built now and in the future:
"Every single Model S now rolling out of the factory includes a forward radar, 12 long range ultrasonic sensors positioned to sense 16 feet around the car in every direction at all speeds, a forward looking camera, and a high precision, digitally controlled electric assist braking system."
http://www.teslamotors.com/blo...
1. It doesn't use LIDAR which is way too expensive. Just cameras, ultrasonic sensors and forward radar. The self driving capabilities are modest for now: lane keeping, changing lanes on command, distance keeping, etc. Many of those capabilities already exist in other cars, it's just an evolution of existing technology. It now actually allows you to take your hands off the wheel. Not as good as Google's cars, but those are many years away from the market while Tesla's simpler solution should be ready in a few months.
2. I meant "All cars being delivered today", not those that have been delivered before. I agree I should have phrased it better. The sensors started appearing on new cars a few weeks ago. All of those are capable of autopilot.