glbeaty
Computer
- Jul 7, 2008
- 5
Though there is a lot of FUD surrounding the company, there is also a lot of anecdotal evidence Teslas experience a high rate of suspension failure without a prior causal impact. Reported failures range from ball joint studs, to control arms, to spindles.
There are also stories of owners signing NDAs following these failures. Teslas also have a much higher fatalities per mile driven than other high-end luxury cars (though most of this could be due to owners using autopilot where they shouldn't).
Hypothesized causes for this include:
1) The use of extruded aluminum for some suspension links, with the links being loaded orthogonal to the extrusion axis.
2) Two-piece ball joints with a stud that seems to be (friction?) welded onto the ball. I'd never seen this before.
3) Hydrogen bubbles in cast aluminum parts.
4) The high mass of the cars (the base Model S weighs 4,647 lbs, with the heaviest X weighing 5,531.
For pictures of various links, head over to ebay.
What I'm wondering is:
A) Do these explanations make sense?
B) If I bought some links off ebay (Tesla does not sell new parts to the public), is there some place I could send them to have them put through some sort of standard automotive testing regimen? I'm guessing this would be tension-compression testing?
C) How often do these parts fail on other cars? My motorsport experience makes me believe these sorts of failures are extremely rare.
Thanks for any help.
Disclosure: I'm short Tesla's stock.
There are also stories of owners signing NDAs following these failures. Teslas also have a much higher fatalities per mile driven than other high-end luxury cars (though most of this could be due to owners using autopilot where they shouldn't).
Hypothesized causes for this include:
1) The use of extruded aluminum for some suspension links, with the links being loaded orthogonal to the extrusion axis.
2) Two-piece ball joints with a stud that seems to be (friction?) welded onto the ball. I'd never seen this before.
3) Hydrogen bubbles in cast aluminum parts.
4) The high mass of the cars (the base Model S weighs 4,647 lbs, with the heaviest X weighing 5,531.
For pictures of various links, head over to ebay.
What I'm wondering is:
A) Do these explanations make sense?
B) If I bought some links off ebay (Tesla does not sell new parts to the public), is there some place I could send them to have them put through some sort of standard automotive testing regimen? I'm guessing this would be tension-compression testing?
C) How often do these parts fail on other cars? My motorsport experience makes me believe these sorts of failures are extremely rare.
Thanks for any help.
Disclosure: I'm short Tesla's stock.