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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"
So it's expensive, but at least you get what you pay for.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Apparently TESLA headlines weren't getting enough clicks, so they had to shove IPHONE in there too.
This site is fucking pathetic.
Tell you what... let's wait till the self-driving model comes out, and then you can complain about not playing the latest games on the instrument cluster.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
"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?
..with 1,000 more components than any it has previously analyzed.
Is that good? That's 1000 more things that could fail.
That was exactly my thought too. But at least it's better than the original headline, which was trimmed due to length: "Tesla teardown reveals driver-facing electronics built by suppliers for the iPhone 6, made by Apple, who uses Foxconn, home of underage mistreated slave laborers who kill themselves."
But the bigger question is, will a Tesla blend?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Oh, wait, people aren't supposed to keep cars that long any more.
Cars don't last like they used to. I have seen several 100 year old Ford Model-Ts. I have never seen a 100 year old Tesla.
You can see a 100 year old Tesla if you're prepared to do some grave digging.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
my 2000 honda accord lasted 12 years and 200k miles. and it ran great and was in great condition. it only went to the graveyard because I put it into a tree.
You mean: But the bigger question is, will a Tesla bend?
Cars with 2G connections back tot eh mother ship are going to go dark soon as those system go off the air. It is hard to see a lot of manufacturers keeping servers alive for the whole 20 years car life for a lot of these features. Now GM is sticking wifi and 4G into their rigs. I'm a luddite for sure, but I just want a good reliable and fun car. Beyond the basic instrument cluster I really want any additions to be thought of on a couple decade scale.
To jazz things up for me, cars should come with:
1) A spare key FOB (i.e. 3 total, minimum)
2) A decent radio that I can dumb down (if i don't have an XM subscription, it should disappear from the station list, and let me hide AM as well please).
3) A modular GPS display that can be easily swapped out with other industry standard display/GPS/infotainment options. The proprietary crap that costs a couple hundred bucks to update the maps on is just BS, as is the ~2k price tag if it breaks.
4) An analog speed readout, I hate digital.
5) Buttons and controls I can manipulate easily without have to look down at them. Smooth front buttons on the radio look nice, but suck to use on the road. Dials for volume, fan speed, vent mode, etc are better than up/down switches.
rant
rant
rant...
Why wouldn't they just provide a simple docking station, allow the docked device access to the car speakers and stay away from building their own navigation and music players? They still think they can hold their customers up for ransom by demanding 1800$ for an integrated navigation system or 1200$ for the music player. No, just put in good speakers and allow us to bring our own devices into the car.
The lack of imagination of the auto makers is astounding. WiFi is what 15 years old? iPod is 10 years old? Why didn't they build a car with WiFi that will connect to your home, down load daily news, weather, traffic reports into the hard disk 10 years ago? After missing the boat then, now they are coming up with walled gardens of WiFi, memory storage in the car etc.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
let me guess... the car doesn't run if you unplug the radio?
I cant stand the way they integrate radios so far into a car now that you have no option to replace it should you want to. I don't care how good this system is, many people who buy the car wont want it. I should be able to swap it out for anything I want. When I replaced my fords "Microsoft Sync" radio a while back it killed my entire dash. I had to spend $200 on a translation computer to replace the bit of the radio that controlled the dash.
Seriously, there's already an industry standard for car radios, screens, audio data, remote control, everything. Do us all a favor and follow industry standard.
Nothing says luxury like simulated wood grain accents.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
A 100 year old steam car can be kept running. A 70 year old Ford can be a daily driver. What will happen to an electric Tesla when the first capacitor on the control panel CPU craps out in 10 years? Will spare motherboards be available? Will you be able to drive the car when the computer controlling the battery cooler dies? Or will it become a brick? That central panel isn't the radio, it is indispensable to the operation of the vehicle! BTW I've driven a Tesla S Supersport and it is a lot of fun to drive and a worked very well.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The self driving model is out, it just needs a software update to actually have the autopilot functionality. All cars delivered today have the hardware and will be able to get the update.
I thought I'd also mention the top model now does 0-60 3.2 seconds (P85D), the 4.2 mentioned in the summary is the older P85. Probably an older article?
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.
*sigh* you can replace it with an aftermarket EFI system, too, instead of carbing it. Just because the part doesn't have Ford stamped on it, doesn't mean it can't work on it! You can directly swap another Ford EFI engine in. You could do any number of things other than carbing it or scrapping it. You just aren't using your imagination or you're terribly lazy. Where did the hacker culture of Slashdot go? I thought this was supposed to be the year of the Maker?
Also those that just have to have OEM parts amuse me. You fell for the hype. It's cool though, it's your money you're wasting.
But you can buy a 100 year old Baker Electric..... with original batteries that still work!