Tesla's Hardware 3 computer frightens legacy auto

[electruck]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-hardware-3-frightens-toyota-vw-model-3-teardown/

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[ElectricTrucking]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-hardware-3-frightens-toyota-vw-model-3-teardown/

I don't know what to do with this information on a Rivian forum. Should we start posting all EV news. I read most of the auto forums. The fan boys at the Tesla forum keep things Tesla as nasty as they get.

 

[electruck]

To tie this directly to Rivian... I am hopeful that since Rivian is starting from scratch and developing all new vendor relations that they, like Tesla, will be able to accomplish things the legacy manufacturers have been unable to (or perhaps just unwilling). But on the flip side, Rivian is not nearly as vertically integrated as Tesla which could potentially lead to the same kind of legacy baggage a product generation or 2 down the road.

I found the following quote from the article particularly interesting:

"Tesla’s undeniable lead in tech is partly due to the company not being tied down to traditional automotive supply chains. The publication noted that if traditional automakers adopt a similar strategy as Tesla today, they would have to drastically cut the number of electronic control units that they use in their vehicles. This would result in massive blows to supply chains that vehicle-makers rely on."
​

I translate this loosely to imply that the legacy manufacturers are forced to change slowly so as not to completely upset the delicate supply chain balance.

We've seen similar legacy "baggage" come up in the UAW contract negotiations centered around the difficulty of trying to keep workers employed when the parts they used to build are no longer needed and the potential replacement jobs require less skill and offer lower pay. The manufacturers need to pivot to new technologies but are limited in what they can do as they have to be mindful of the very large workforce that would be negatively impacted.

 

[EVian]

To tie this directly to Rivian... I am hopeful that since Rivian is starting from scratch and developing all new vendor relations that they, like Tesla, will be able to accomplish things the legacy manufacturers have been unable to (or perhaps just unwilling). But on the flip side, Rivian is not nearly as vertically integrated as Tesla which could potentially lead to the same kind of legacy baggage a product generation or 2 down the road.

I found the following quote from the article particularly interesting:

"Tesla’s undeniable lead in tech is partly due to the company not being tied down to traditional automotive supply chains. The publication noted that if traditional automakers adopt a similar strategy as Tesla today, they would have to drastically cut the number of electronic control units that they use in their vehicles. This would result in massive blows to supply chains that vehicle-makers rely on."
​

I translate this loosely to imply that the legacy manufacturers are forced to change slowly so as not to completely upset the delicate supply chain balance.

We've seen similar legacy "baggage" come up in the UAW contract negotiations centered around the difficulty of trying to keep workers employed when the parts they used to build are no longer needed and the potential replacement jobs require less skill and offer lower pay. The manufacturers need to pivot to new technologies but are limited in what they can do as they have to be mindful of the very large workforce that would be negatively impacted.

I was going to quote the same passage. The move to fewer ECUs has already started, admittedly higher up the supply chain, with OEMs developing ‘domain controllers’ that replace multiple ECUs. So the vehicle will have fewer controllers, and more communication between those controllers and sensors and the like around the vehicle. I have only become aware of this relatively recently, but seems it’s not a particularly new idea; I can find references to them from 2014.

I think it really does demonstrate the inertia that exists in the established auto companies. That is one of the many reasons I’m hoping to pin my future car banner on a Rivian as soon as preorders come to the UK!!!

 

[Coast2Coast]

Auto makers can't be good at everything and it's often a mistake to be too vertically integrated. Tesla is an exception in this regard and it's not generally considered advantageous for Tesla to being doing everything in-house. For a relative new comer like Rivian, does it make sense to do everything in-house? Should scarce resources being used to make seats, like Tesla does? The conventional wisdom is higher value added and proprietary processes/products are done in-house. Let suppliers do the rest. RJ has mentioned that 250 suppliers are already lined up, and often auto firms are just as much assemblers as manufacturers. Clearly the skateboard, attendant hardware and software, autonomous driving tech, some aspects of infotainment and other aspects of software control are largely being done in-house.

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