Like the rest of the auto industry, Tesla is now facing the electronic component crisis. The American manufacturer is therefore forced to make compromises, removing elements here and there from its cars in order to be able to continue producing them.
Last spring, Tesla had removed the lumbar support in the seats of the Model 3 and Y to reduce costs. In November, Elon Musk lamented on Twitter the “ nightmare that the supply chain represented. And earlier this year, the same Musk admitted that Tesla had suffered the ” hell » semiconductors, giving the example of the electronic chip that allows the seat to be moved back and forth.
A problem for autonomous driving
And the troubles are not over for Tesla, as for its customers. According to CNBC, the manufacturer has decided to remove one of the two electronic control units that are normally integrated into the steering systems of Model 3 and Y models assembled in China. Tens of thousands of private vehicles of this module have been delivered to Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and even China.
Oh man, this year has been such a supply chain nightmare & it’s not over!
I will provide an updated product roadmap on next earnings call.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 29, 2021
The problem with this component removal, not yet confirmed by Tesla, is that it is necessary for the autonomous driving system promised by Elon Musk. The latter has promised that the FSD (Full Self Driving) will be delivered this year via a software update. This is so-called Level 3 autonomous driving, which allows the car to drive itself in normal driving scenarios.
However, it seems that the FSD needs both control units. To take advantage of this feature, drivers may well need to visit a Tesla Service Center. Sources of CNBC explain, however, that the removed unit does not pose a security problem at present, since it is considered secondary and used mainly as a back-up of the main unit.
