Unboxing Innovation: How Tesla's New Manufacturing Method Will Transform the Industry

Tesla's next-gen vehicle may drastically reduce manufacturing costs

Not a Tesla App

A century ago, Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production by introducing the moving assembly line, a concept that changed manufacturing forever and made cars accessible to the masses. Today, we stand at the brink of another manufacturing revolution, this time led by Tesla. The company is reinventing the assembly line for the electric age with its forthcoming $25,000 car, also referred to as Redwood.

Unboxing the Future: Tesla's Modular Manufacturing

At the heart of Tesla's innovative production approach is the "unboxed" manufacturing system. This new method breaks from the century-old linear assembly process by adopting a modular, more flexible framework. Unlike traditional manufacturing lines where vehicles inch forward on a conveyor belt to have parts added sequentially, Tesla's unboxed system assembles cars in a manner reminiscent of assembling Lego blocks. Components are pieced together in dedicated subassembly areas, only coming together in the final stages.

Tesla’s $25,000 car means tossing out Henry Ford's 100-year-old assembly line - Autonews

"Instead of a large, rectangular car moving along a linear conveyer belt, parts are assembled simultaneously in dedicated areas and then all put together at the end. Tesla says the change… pic.twitter.com/heaxn4oS91

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 28, 2024

This modular approach is not just about breaking away from tradition; it's a strategic move to outmaneuver stiff competition from Chinese EV startups, which benefit from robust government support and an efficient local supply chain. By adopting a method that echoes the assembly techniques of the consumer electronics industry, Tesla aims to reduce its manufacturing footprint by over 40%, promising faster and more cost-effective factory construction.

Robotic Precision and Reducing Costs

The unboxed system is set to dramatically lower vehicle production costs. Estimates suggest that manufacturing costs could be slashed by as much as 50%, enabling the construction of vehicles in significantly smaller factories. This efficiency is partly attributed to advanced robotics, like the Optimus Bot, which enhances operational efficiency and safety while providing unprecedented flexibility in manufacturing.

Tesla's introduction of the unboxed manufacturing system is not merely a technical evolution; it's a strategic adaptation designed to cement Tesla's position in a rapidly evolving automotive landscape. By drastically reducing costs and enhancing production efficiency, Tesla is not just aiming to compete with Chinese EV manufacturers but is also setting a new standard for vehicle production worldwide.

Embracing Manufacturing's Electric Future

Tesla's approach could serve as a blueprint for the future of manufacturing, challenging established norms and encouraging other industries to reconsider their own production methods. Just as Ford's assembly line became a hallmark of industrial manufacturing, Tesla's unboxed system may become synonymous with the next production era, characterized by flexibility, efficiency, and sustainability.

In essence, Tesla is doing for the electric vehicle what Henry Ford did for the gasoline car: making it accessible, affordable, and adaptable to the needs of the modern world. As we witness this new chapter in manufacturing history unfold, it's clear that Tesla's innovative spirit is not just about creating cutting-edge vehicles; it's also about reshaping automotive production for the 21st century.

Follow

Follow

Follow

Tesla Smoking While Supercharging? A Look at What's Actually Happening

Hot_Engineering3140 on Reddit

Winter is here, and temperatures are dropping, so one of the most common Tesla questions is about to resurface.

If you’ve landed here after frantically searching about “smoke” coming from your Tesla while Supercharging, take a deep breath—it’s completely normal.

Tesla Smoking While Charging

If you’re Supercharging in freezing weather—even with preconditioning—you might notice steam rising from your Tesla. But rest assured, your car isn’t smoking.

Your Tesla’s heat pump is hard at work warming both the cabin and battery to keep you comfortable and ensure optimal charging temperatures. Over time, condensation and ice build-up in the heat exchanger coils.

Why Does It Happen?

When you reach a Supercharger with your vehicle, the heat pump is still running hot, but without the cold air from driving to keep the heat exchanger coils cool, the ice and condensation quickly start to evaporate—creating what looks like smoke.

Since this typically happens near the front of the vehicle, where a car would traditionally have an engine, new vehicle owners can be startled by the discovery. However, rest assured that it’s just water vapor and it’s completely normal in cold weather.

In fact, this behavior can be experienced in any EV with a heat pump in cold climates. So, if you saw steam coming out of your vehicle and panicked, don’t worry—you’re not alone.

Now that you know what’s happening, go ahead and Supercharge with confidence.

Follow

Follow

Follow

Tesla Improves YouTube App With Smoother Playback

Not a Tesla App

Tesla made a lot of improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update, including more than 15 undocumented improvements that were included in the release. One of these was a stealthy performance improvement to the YouTube app.

Several people have mentioned they’ve seen improved performance on YouTube since this year’s Holiday Update - and there’s an interesting reason why.

YouTube Improvements

The improved YouTube performance in Tesla vehicles comes from an unexpected source—Tesla actually rolled back support for YouTube’s newer AV1 video encoding. Instead, vehicles now default to the older VP9 encoding standard.

While AV1 is highly efficient in terms of bandwidth, it requires considerably more processing power to decode and display videos. VP9, on the other hand, is less computationally demanding but uses more bandwidth to achieve the same video quality. This trade-off means smoother playback and better overall performance, even if it comes at the cost of slightly higher data usage.

Intel Inside

The VP9 video codec that the YouTube app is now using is much easier to decode, making it less taxing on the vehicle’s processor. This change is particularly beneficial for Tesla vehicles with Intel processors, which previously struggled to stream video at just 720p. When using AV1, these vehicles often experienced stuttering, sometimes forcing the YouTube app to automatically downgrade playback to 480p.

With this update, Intel-based Teslas should now be able to stream at 1080p smoothly. Streaming at 1440p is also possible, although occasional stutters still occur as the system keeps up with the decoding process.

Intel-based vehicles are the big winners with this change, but this appears to affect AMD Ryzen-based infotainment units as well, providing even smoother playback.

Chromium Web App

Tesla’s Theater apps aren’t native applications; instead, they run as chromeless web apps, leveraging the open-source browser built into Teslas known as Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome). Although this works quite well, there is a severe limitation - Chromium hardware acceleration isn’t supported on Linux, the operating system Tesla uses for their OS.

As a result, Tesla vehicles rely on software decoding instead of hardware decoding, which would otherwise handle video playback far more efficiently. A potential solution could be for Tesla to transition away from Chromium-based web apps in favor of a Mozilla Firefox-based browser, as Firefox does support hardware acceleration on Linux. This switch could also open the door to better streaming performance and the possibility of expanding Tesla’s in-car entertainment options.

However, Tesla’s choice of Chromium likely stems from Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements for streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, which rely on DRM-enabled playback. Firefox on Linux has had inconsistent support for DRM due to codec availability and variations in operating system versions.

We’re hopeful that Tesla will either adopt Firefox or develop a fully native application to improve video streaming, rather than continuing with the current web-based Tesla Theater. This shift could also pave the way for additional in-car applications built on Tesla’s native Linux environment—perhaps even reviving the long-rumored Tesla App Store.

Regardless, this update is a welcome improvement, particularly for YouTube, which remains one of the most widely used Theater Mode apps due to its accessibility, free content, and mix of short and long-form videos. It remains to be seen whether similar improvements are made for Netflix, Disney+, or other streaming platforms.

If you’ve noticed improved performance in Theater Mode, now you know why.

Follow

Follow

Follow