(Photo Credit: fiatgroupworld)
According to the well-known American news media CNBC’s report, Tesla has internally decided to remove an electronic control unit from the electric power steering system of Tesla’s models, including the Model 3 and Model Y, due to a global shortage of automotive chip production.
An internal email from Tesla said that Tesla unplugged one of the two Electronic Control Units (ECUs) carried by the Model 3 and Model Y steering systems built by the Shanghai Gigafactory. The ECUs act on the power steering wheel of the car. It can make it easier to return the wheels when driving and improve the driving control feeling. The vehicles will be sold in China, Australia, UK, Germany and many other markets.
Tesla’s engineering team believes that the Tesla autopilot Full Self-Driving (FSD) assistance system only needs one ECU to operate. The other ECU is just a backup, and removing one ECU does not affect safety.
But some employees told CNBC that these modified vehicles will not be able to use Level 3 autonomous driving. Suppose Tesla rolls out a more complex FSD system in the future, in that case, owners will need to go back to the factory to update parts to enable advanced features.
Interestingly, the company did not disclose the changes to its customers as it considers the changes made to be redundant in nature. Tesla’s total deliveries for 2021 are approaching the 1 million mark, thanks largely to a commitment to Fremont, California.
According to a media analysis of production data from more than seventy factories in North America, the Fremont factory will be the most productive auto plant in North America in 2021. However, the most significant production capacity improvement still comes from the Shanghai Gigafactory.
Currently, no source indicates that models produced in the United States will also take this measure. Please stay tuned for further information.
