Hope this doesn’t happen with the CyberTruck

[ricinro]

A quick design could be sent to protomold and you would have parts in days and it would cost a few grand. This looks like a production fix and not an engineering fix. But if you listen to the arguments here such as this is not a professional fix on a $50k car I agree. I also know from experience that there are many engineers who think a garage fix is ok if it works. But this fix is a short term bandaid that will fail and if Tesla was my company I would be outraged.

oh yeah I do own part of Tesla...

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[Bigvbear]

I am perfectly happy being in the mid 200,000 on the list. Production issues like this should have been well worked out by then

 

[Crissa]

This is not a fix that would fail any faster than any other fix. Some of the pieces might crack... But so to might some of anything else you might replace it with.

And it takes more than days to get a molded vinyl piece designed and a mold made and production started to catch up with the rest of production. And that costs more than a few hundred dollars.

The factory is the product, and so this is somewhere they will need to go back to the drawing board and make a cheap and easy to install fix.

For all we know, the fix is new condensers attached to the new cast body. That saves the entire rigamarole. But it doesn't fix the current condensers and bodies.

-Crissa

 

[Newton]

Cybermoose...
One thing that confuses me is that you are saying that it's okay to use something for a repair but not in production.


Imagine saving up for a high-in watch like a Rolex, in my mind renown for high quality, a genuine heirloom item. But you open it up to find the gem bearings replaced with oil impregnate brass, Because they ran out of gem bearing material but had a bunch of brass on hand. As the normal everyday buyer you will never notice it and the product will work the same for many years.

But now my heirloom item I was expecting to have for generations became a cheaper product that I could have gotten for less money.
Same concept.

 

[Crissa]

But you open it up to find the gem bearings replaced with oil impregnate brass, Because...

...Because they used a hand-cut shim instead of a stamped shim?

You're comparing a moving part with different durability to a repair that has the same durability. Do you really care that it's a sapphire or ruby in the points? Or if it's mined by children in Africa or was a synthetic replacement bought off the shelf? Gotta have that child labor?

-Crissa

 

[CyberMoose]

Cybermoose...
One thing that confuses me is that you are saying that it's okay to use something for a repair but not in production.


Imagine saving up for a high-in watch like a Rolex, in my mind renown for high quality, a genuine heirloom item. But you open it up to find the gem bearings replaced with oil impregnate brass, Because they ran out of gem bearing material but had a bunch of brass on hand. As the normal everyday buyer you will never notice it and the product will work the same for many years.

But now my heirloom item I was expecting to have for generations became a cheaper product that I could have gotten for less money.
Same concept.

I disagree that it's the same concept. I don't know much about watches so I have to read some articles but it seems that there is added benefit to the gem bearings for accuracy and life. You are saying the vibrations will basically cause the condenser to start to cut into the plastic. My opinion is the opposite, in at least a way that it wouldn't do that within the life of the vehicle, which i'm guessing will be a very long time for Teslas.

If Tesla were to do something like replace my armor glass with regular glass on the cybertruck, or replace something in the motor with something that would be directly affect the performance in another way, I would be pretty pissed.

But I don't see how this piece that they've put in would negatively affect the car in any way. I don't see why this piece would require service before anything else on the vehicle.

 

[Newton]

...Because they used a hand-cut shim instead of a stamped shim?

You're comparing a moving part with different durability to a repair that has the same durability. Do you really care that it's a sapphire or ruby in the points? Or if it's mined by children in Africa or was a synthetic replacement bought off the shelf? Gotta have that child labor?

-Crissa

I'll ignore the child thing. But I can almost guarantee you this will fail before the proper fix will. I dont understand why you think it's equivalent. Either way it will or wont and what's done is done I'm done talking about this.

 

[CyberMoose]

I'll second that the child labor comment was not needed. Also I agree that this conversation would be best to end, there isn't any way to prove that this piece will last or that it will fail and everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, unless you plan on taking apart your Cybertruck when you get it, are you really going to trust that something similar never happened to your vehicle?

The fix that happened with the condenser is a pretty easy one to find for someone who is comfortable taking stuff apart, but there could easily be similar things done in a few other areas of the Cybertruck.

 

[Crissa]

If it takes a child labor comment to shut it down, I'll do it. I got a little carried away, tho.

Tho the point was more that this isn't a wear point, it's a bracket. Which would be made out of aluminum or vinyl with a steel core. Like the bodge was.

-Crissa

 

[Newton]

If it takes a child labor comment to shut it down, I'll do it. I got a little carried away, tho.

Tho the point was more that this isn't a wear point, it's a bracket. Which would be made out of aluminum or vinyl with a steel core. Like the bodge was.

-Crissa

Indeed, perhaps it is perfectly fine. Tesla engineers have proven to make some great stuff, but on occasion some not so great stuff. Time will tell.

 

[Warhawk123162]

If that setup is a true thing from tesla on a production car. Shame on them, that is unacceptable. If your car isn't ready dont bandaid it. At LEAST drill some more holes and hard mount it with long bolts or something solid.

The plastic mouldings isn't the issue but it is an issue(plastic fatigue and degradation from heat cycles and vibration), it's the metal tie strap. This will flex and stretch, or the crimp will loosin. if they felt the need to put it there, their is a good reason. Hopefully they had marked what cars had this and set a quick fate to have it brought in and fixed.

This is very similar to thing we have done with rally cars on long stages, to get it to the finish, not something for long term reliability.

I’ll take my CT right now with a cardboard dash and some zip ties I’ll go back to the dealer and get them squared away later! That’s some good ole American know how that corner molding and band it clamp! Didn’t Ford put out a pinto that exploded in a rear end crash? That had real nice fasteners on it when it blew!

 

[Navy 9]

Texans will take pride in building the Cybertruck!

 

[VolklKatana]

I am perfectly happy being in the mid 200,000 on the list. Production issues like this should have been well worked out by then

... or they will have completely run out of that part by then and you will get the cheap Home Depot part replacement out or necessity, ( which is what i believe happened here)

why hold up the whole line for a part that might take a week to get there when just about anything would have worked as a replacement.

 

[Newton]

I’ll take my CT right now with a cardboard dash and some zip ties I’ll go back to the dealer and get them squared away later! That’s some good ole American know how that corner molding and band it clamp! Didn’t Ford put out a pinto that exploded in a rear end crash? That had real nice fasteners on it when it blew!

It's funny you bring up that of all things.

The pinto gas tank was held in place with small screws, and guess what... 2 metal bands similar to the fix in question.

But that really wasn't the issue, although it could have contributed, it was the fact that the gas tank was also the trunk floor board, all they had to do was put a thicker metal plate isolating it from the cabin. Well and it was too close to the rearend without protection

 

[cyberda]

Why?

If they needed a cheap plastic part to shore up a design fault found in production, no one would complain if they'd 3d printed a weight spreader but this is much cheaper and does the same job as a formed bracket.

Should they not have shipped the cars waiting weeks for the new part to be molded affordably and quickly enough to match the rest of the production line?

-Crissa

I think this sort of "fix" is absolutely unacceptable.

CT pricing gives it an expectation for fit/finish and long term quality ( if I'm dropping >$80,000CDN on a vehicle, I expect it to be very close to flawless). CT is not an entry level cheap and crappy Datsun truck from the 70's. If they do not deliver impeccable quality, sales will dry up. Very few people are going to buy a workhorse truck for the construction site that is falling apart, unreliable or appears to be assembled haphazardly.

So, yes.. these sorts of last minute fixes might work and keep the production line moving, but it speaks to a tolerance of sloppy design and workmanship and pressure to delivery the product no matter what. The cost is that it cheapens the brand, and Tesla's reputation is at stake.