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It is ironic that similar processes can bring diverse conclusions. Sandy Munro has torn down a few Tesla vehicles and was more often fascinated by the company's engineering solutions than by the flaws he and his team discovered. Another teardown report is not so favorable on Tesla. A Cybertruck assessment also puts the battery electric vehicle (BEV) maker's engineering under scrutiny.

In this engineer's words, "their structures up to the Model 3 are quite inefficient and don't have great rigidity. The dimensional variation is shocking (far beyond even SBU, IYKYK)." IYKYK means "if you know, you know," which is probably the most precise use this acronym has ever had. In a quick search to learn what SBU means, I found two suitable meanings: "stratigraphic boundary uncertainty" and "sequential build-up." There are probably more meanings, but I obviously don't know what the author meant, only that SBU represents loose dimensional tolerance control.

The engineer did not stop there. BlueSilverWave also wrote that "the hang-on parts are generally relatively poorly performing on their own. They can't touch our structural or powertrain durability tests." They also said that rate and handling are bad, ergonomics fails to meet package targets, and that noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) level is poor, as well as sound quality. The engineer joked that "we pay JD Power far too much to find out just how bad the quality numbers are (hilariously bad)."

Photo: Ryan Zohoury

The engineer's conclusion was that "Teslas just aren't very good" and that "it really makes you question the customer sometimes." BlueSilverWave added that "Musk's genius is in two very closely related areas: getting investors to give him an unlimited checkbook" and "getting customers to believe they're doing something new, novel, and important, in a way that lets him walk past screwing up things that legacy players get right as an inevitability."

We can't say customers miss that. It is more likely that they prefer to oversee the flaws. I wrote in 2020 about a Tesla fan who said the company sold prototypes, not production vehicles. Ironically, Pete Gruber confirmed in 2021 that this was probably the case with the Roadster, considering how many design flaws the car presented. Buyer complaints are also increasing as Tesla reaches regular customers instead of its own advocates and investors.

Photo: 057 Technology

If that was not enough, a recent article from Fast Company said the Cybertruck would face several issues in reaching production because of its flat body panels. If you use regular steel to obtain stamped parts, they have to present curves to retain their shape and avoid vibration. Adrian Clarke said the Cybertruck body panels were prone to that, which causes discomfort to occupants and may also bring constructive issues, such as loosening bolts. The problem with the professional car designer's observations is that the Cybertruck adopts a thick stainless steel that cannot be stamped. It may only be folded, creating the first difficulty in manufacturing this vehicle. It may be the case that this harder stainless steel does not vibrate as much as regular steel.

Photo: Nick Thomas

Lately, we have been hearing that Tesla is giving signs that deliveries for its electric unibody pickup truck are close. The BEV maker closed its Kato Road battery manufacturing facility and excluded the Model Y with 4680 cells from its website. That would be a sign that it would focus on making the Cybertruck. Another one is that some reservation holders are not able to edit configurations anymore. What if it is the other way around and production has been delayed (again)? We'll only know for sure when Tesla sets a delivery date. Even if it is confirmed, Tesla may have decided to deliver prototypes that comply with regulations which is pretty weird. Its engineering should still be under scrutiny perhaps more visibly than ever as Musk's concerns about sub-10-micron tolerances demonstrate.

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Tesla's Engineering Under Scrutiny Because of the Cybertruck and Alleged Teardowns - autoevolution