How buoyant Tesla is defying global chip shortage

[Eric]

Good read about how Tesla being a newer company has given them the ability to adapt to the chip shortage and bypass much of what other manufacturers cannot.

Analysis: How buoyant Tesla is defying global chip shortage

The global microprocessor shortage has hobbled traditional auto makers, and yet Tesla continues to record record output. So how has Elon Musk done it?

supplychaindigital.com

In Q4, Tesla delivered a record 308,600 vehicles, and announced that deliveries in 2021 were up 87% on 2020 levels.

This eye-catchingly impressive has left many wondering how, exactly, the e-vehicle manufacturer has managed to circumnavigate the chip shortage that has hobbled so many other car makers - with chips used in everything from airbags and infotainment screens to parking assistance and phone chargers.

The answer it seems is simple: Tesla is building its vehicles from scratch, unlike legacy automotive companies, who are producing iterations of vehicle models that often stretch back over generations.

Tesla is a new company, which gives it flexibility on chips​

This means Tesla has the advantage of designing its vehicles from the ground-up, rather than adding parts piecemeal over decades, as have most traditional automakers.

 

[quagmire]

Also helps that Tesla tends to use chips that are built on newer processes where legacy automakers have used older processes. So when automakers dropped orders in 2020, semiconductors shifted capacity to newer processes.

 

[cloudflare420]

I love how we’re ignoring the reason why they forced the garbage vision-only AutoPilot on customers so quickly. Or the reason why they got rid of passenger lumbar support.

Chip shortages. They’re not immune.

 

[cloudflare420]

Also helps that Tesla tends to use chips that are built on newer processes where legacy automakers have used older processes. So when automakers dropped orders in 2020, semiconductors shifted capacity to newer processes.

The last time they took shortcuts with non-automotive grade equipment, we ended up with yellowing screens and failing memory chips.

 

[Eric]

I love how we’re ignoring the reason why they forced the garbage vision-only AutoPilot on customers so quickly. Or the reason why they got rid of passenger lumbar support.

Chip shortages. They’re not immune.

Not sure I follow, was it ever not optional? Personally, everyone I know has opted not to buy it including myself.

 

[cloudflare420]

Not sure I follow, was it ever not optional? Personally, everyone I know has opted not to buy it including myself.

Not FSD, I’m talking about the standard AutoPilot system. Around May-ish, they suddenly removed radar and went vision-only.

 

[Cmaier]

Not sure I follow, was it ever not optional? Personally, everyone I know has opted not to buy it including myself.

The issue is it used to not be purely-vision-based.

 

[quagmire]

The last time they took shortcuts with non-automotive grade equipment, we ended up with yellowing screens and failing memory chips.

True, but there is nothing special about automotive CPU’s in terms of design and what it can withstand. They are just built on let’s say a 22nm process where the Ryzen Tesla just changed to could be on 7 nm. Semiconductors stopped production of the 22nm process to prioritize the newer processes.

And yes Tesla has been effected by the shortage. Such as the removal of passenger seat lumbar and radar. And delivering cars without functioning USB-C ports( to be retrofitted by mobile service).

 

[AG_PhamD]

Tesla has weathered the chip shortage in that they have increased their sales and their ability to pivot quickly is commendable… but it’s not exactly smooth sailing. Reportedly Chinese customers will be waiting months to receive their Chinese produced Teslas due to chip shortages.

Tesla was also forced to increase prices and cut features- like passenger lumbar support, USB ports, wireless charging, radar sensors- the latter resulting in a loss of autonomous features, at least temporarily.

Cutting features however is not unique to Tesla. Many brands have had to make similar decisions to continue moving their cars off the production line.

I have to say a bit skeptical of a solely vision based system. It seems to me the safest and most reliable system is one that uses multiple sensor types and then compares the data. Radar also works in poor visibility conditions.