RE:Automobile buyers will be the real winners. Imagine thatObscure1 wrote: You might be thinking OMG, another EV post, but this is about manufacturing process, not ICE vs EV's
"Tesla is now closing in on an innovation that will allow it to die cast almost the entire complex underbody of an electric car, five sources said. This means the company will be able to replace about 400 parts used in a typical car with one large part. In fact, this is the principle by which toy cars are made, as Elon Musk previously mentioned"
What are the cost implicatons of using 2 giga pieces instead of 400 pieces?
* The two castings will be made in-house and created on a just-in-time basis.
* No ordering of 400 pieces (what could possibly go wrong with relying upon 400 suppliers)
* No receiving and inventory placement and storage of 400 pieces (minimal space required)
* No planning and coordinating and moving the 400 pieces out of inventory (no congestion)
* No installation of the 400 pieces (positioning,welding,screwing)
* No quality control required for joining the 400 pieces (each may require multiple welds or screws)
* No polishing and coating the welds for anti-rusting
* No alignment issues or manufacturing defects that can slow down a production line
A robot will pick up a front casting and put it in place. Another robot will put the rear casting in place. A third robot will put the structural battery in place. At that point, another robot will intall the 39 bolts that will secure everything
At that point, I expect that an actual human will the 39 mechanical fastenings.
In approximately two years from now, Tesla's Generation 3 cars will cost about half of what their costs are today.
Everybody crapps on Elon but people are going to be able to buy a Tesla (leading edge technology and industry leading quality) for about half of what cars cost last year. The cars won't require brake work or oil changes and fuel will be about 1/10 of what peope will be paying for gas if they charge at home.
It will be up to ICE manufactures to figure out how to respond and decide how long it will take.
The FUD that has been created by the press doesn't stand up to reality when your neighbour tells you about the math behind their new purchase, or better still, takes you for a drive.
No matter what decisions are made by the auto industry execs, buyers are going to vote with their wallets.
Customers will be the real winners. What a refreshing concept.
i had already addressed that in my older post. It's not about ICE vs EV, it's the old ways/infrastructure/pension liability that will shackle the legacy autos, even if they also make EVs.
However, $US15k, $US 20k EV may still not be cheap enough.
ICE still can be around because used ICE can be had for cheap
it is deceptive of you promoting EV over ICE using only TSLA for comparison.
You never bring up EV greatness from GM, ford, stellantis, VW, BMW, audi, and 39 other chinese EV makers. Maybe because that would be promoting TSLA on SU board?