Imagine it or not, we’re nonetheless discovering nuggets in Tesla’s Investor Day. The occasion was held on March 1 and the 4-hour lengthy string of shows remains to be delivering attention-grabbing information that we might have missed watching it the primary time.
Living proof – the standard 12 Volt on board techniques. The automotive trade has been utilizing 12 Volt because the Sixties when the vast majority of automakers agreed to maneuver away from 6 Volt techniques beforehand used. Now Tesla determined that 12 Volt merely is now not sufficient and it’s time for an improve.
It’s not the primary time Tesla is messing about with the onboard electrics. Initially all Tesla automobiles had been geared up with a conventional 12V lead-acid battery. Sadly these are inclined to fail on electrical vehicles much more usually than they do within the legacy vehicles. Within the case of Tesla, its vehicles wanted a brand new battery each 4 years or so.
Tesla first changed the standard 12V lead-acid battery with lithium-ion unit
Firm determined that it was time to deal with the problem and changed the onboard 12V battery with a a lot smaller and far lighter lithium-ion unit. That changeover occurred early in 2021 and it was first launched to Mannequin S and Mannequin X. The Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3 adopted later the identical yr. The 12V lithium-ion battery in Tesla now not wants changing and it ought to final so long as the automotive itself.
That was a lavatory change however not sufficiently big for Tesla. The explanation why the corporate finds the 12 Volt techniques insufficient is solely – we maintain including expertise to our vehicles and that expertise attracts quite a lot of present. Which means thicker and heavier wires and extra drain on the battery itself.
The reply to that downside is 48, not 42 as Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy would have you ever assume. By upping the voltage to 48 as a substitute of 12, the present drops 4 occasions. Which means – in principle – 4 occasions thinner cables. It’s estimated that Mannequin S comes with about 60 kg of wiring with a price upwards of $1,700. If Tesla actually needs to ship 20 million electrical vehicles a yr – finally – saving greater than $1,200 per automotive on wiring means further $20 billion in financial savings.
That is how a lot present draw elevated in vehicles over time
The corporate has confirmed in the course of the Investor Day that Cybertruck is the primary Tesla to convey the 48 Volt system to a manufacturing automobile. All the brand new Tesla fashions going ahead will use the 48 Volt as a substitute of the older 12 Volt setup. Sure, 48 Volt remains to be thought-about to be secure however it’s far more painful when you resolve to stay your fingers in.
