899

Tesla is facing issues with the bare metal construction of the Cybertruck, which Elon Musk warned was as tricky to do as making Lego bricks

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Dettweiler42@lemmyonline.com 335 points 1 year ago

It's almost like he hears about how bad the build quality of Tesla cars have become, so he thinks the solution is more accurrate, more expensive parts. Kind of like he has absolutely no clue what he's doing, and doesn't want to listen to smarter people telling him what they need.

[-] orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts 174 points 1 year ago

Elon is a masterclass in the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[-] bdesk@kbin.social 61 points 1 year ago

I think we should rename that effect after the man who invented it: the Musk-Dunning-Kruger effect

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] 4lan@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

I think it's more likely that he is looking for excuses for the years of delays on the cyber truck.

Now he can blame it on his "desire for perfection" instead of admitting that his timeline was never viable

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] anlumo@feddit.de 232 points 1 year ago

Tesla should mill the car from one solid block of steel.

[-] SirQuackTheDuck@lemmy.world 60 points 1 year ago

As a pedestrian and cyclist (aka Dutchman): fuck that noise

[-] Baahb@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] uniqueid198x@lemmy.dbzer0.com 205 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

10 microns is .4 thou, about the width of a cotton fiber. Its possible to machine those tolerances, but very time consuming as machine maintainance steps up. Its also small enough that the thermal expansion of the sheets will be larger than that

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 102 points 1 year ago

So basically elon would rather dump money into expensive equipment to improve build quality than do the thing that's actually needed to improve build quality and pay his workers what their work is worth and make their factory environment safer?

This is the kind of petty angry bullshit you have to do to be a billionaire. Its not about being smart, it's about on some level hating everyone that isn't you

[-] Red_October@lemmy.world 69 points 1 year ago

Making a lot of assumptions about what he's willing to put into this.

He's not going to get fancy expensive new equipment, he's not going to hire the best machinists, he's not going to slow the work down to allow that kind of accuracy. He's going to bluster and shout and make demands without providing any way of actually achieving those demands. That's what Elon does. He's not an Engineer, he doesn't design things, he doesn't build things, he tells people who actually know what they're doing to build something. Here, he's just saying "Do better" without anything more, and expecting that to be enough because he doesn't actually know shit about dick.

Frankly the closest I've seen to evidence that Elon has ever actually designed anything is the eyesore that is the Cybertruck, because it absolutely looks like something that cretin would draw in crayon and demand be made a reality.

load more comments (15 replies)
[-] blargerer@kbin.social 43 points 1 year ago

You aren't going to hit that tolerance consistently on an assembly line no matter how much you pay. Can be done by a skilled machinist, but there are too many dynamical variables in an assembly line environment, like the previously mentioned thermal expansion.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world 54 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Which just shows he has no idea how tolerances work. Small machined parts have different tolerances than large stamped parts. The key is setting the right tolerances for each part, designing the vehicle for desired gaps with those tolerances, and continuous improvement to fix and design out issues.

[-] uniqueid198x@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 1 year ago

None at all. He also doesn't understend that the issues tesla has faced are largely due to poor process design rather than automotive design. The plans may call for small gaps ore big gaps, but they certainly don't call for iconsistent gaps

load more comments (10 replies)
[-] dmention7@lemm.ee 160 points 1 year ago

If LEGO and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we.

This man is a certifiable idiot, and I feel bad for anyone working for him.

[-] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

I mean, to be fair, he's not entirely wrong, you can get that accuracy on larger parts given sufficient time, materials, tools, expertise, etc.

But a car has more parts than a Lego brick

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] Lianodel@ttrpg.network 98 points 1 year ago

Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb.​

It sounds to me like the reasonable conclusion to draw from this would be to modify the design of the car. I'd also assume you don't need tolerances to be the same for literally all parts inside and out. I'd also think that, if the car looks that bad if things are 10 or more microns out of place, these cars are going to age terribly after regular use.

But what do I know? If I were smart, I'd be rich, right? And Elon is so rich, he must be a genius!

[-] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 35 points 1 year ago

Tesla is know for shoddy panel alignment correct? This is gonna look horrific.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Nacktmull@lemmy.world 93 points 1 year ago

This just shows how dumb he is and that he doesn't know shit. Unnecessary, unreasonable and unrealistic tolerances will not result in a better car!

[-] painfulasterisk@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

That tells you of Elon's brain surface roughness

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] iamdisillusioned@lemmy.world 77 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's just marketing. Elon wants dumb tesla bros to think their truck is built to that accuracy. No need for it to be reality.

load more comments (5 replies)
[-] fubo@lemmy.world 76 points 1 year ago

Cybertruck, Cybertruck,
Engineers say "what the fuck"
Micron fits for auto steel?
Those are not a thing that's real
So deal! Deal with it, Cybertruck.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 71 points 1 year ago

In the full email he goes on to tell the engineer what a micron is.

I guess, he just read that word somewhere and now feels cool that he knows it.

It would be cute if he was a junior manager, but this way it's just sad.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 67 points 1 year ago

Why does Space Karen still have all his fanbois? Do they really think he's some kind of software/technology/business genius, even after all that has come out about him?

load more comments (35 replies)
[-] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 66 points 1 year ago

Two things, not necessarily related.

  1. The cybertronk looks highly regarded when put together correctly. Imagine if it has the panel gaps of other cars TSLA makes.

  2. My tinfoil hat theory on why Elon is acting all right wing all of the sudden is to get those idiots to buy electric bare metal Pontiac Aztecs with "unbreakable" windows instead of F-150's

load more comments (30 replies)
[-] nomecks@lemmy.world 64 points 1 year ago

If Elon would have looked back, he would have seen that Delorean has already tried bare metal, and it's nearly impossible to fix. Dent your truck? May as well paint it.

I mean, Elon obviously doesn't care about repairability, but the first few fender benders will result in a pile of articles about how unfixable the body panels actually are.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 42 points 1 year ago

But at least John DeLorean didn't demand that the parts be accurate to within a few microns. Maybe he was too busy making cocaine deals to do it, but still...

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] Im14abeer@midwest.social 60 points 1 year ago

Elon gonna engineer the shit outta this thing. Nevermind coil steel itself varies by more than that before it goes into a die and stretches. It's almost like he doesn't have any background in automotive manufacturing. This statement makes me think Elon may not know what a micron even is. The fit and finish of Tesla's current offerings seems to evidence it anyway.

[-] quadropiss@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago

Sounds like a pr campaign

[-] candyman337@sh.itjust.works 57 points 1 year ago

Hilarious considering the panel gaps in all his other cars, dude is fucking insane. Unattainable standards don't breed better work they breed exasperation and apathy.

[-] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 56 points 1 year ago

They've had five years to figure that stuff out. If they haven't done it by now, they never will.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 56 points 1 year ago

Sure hun. Would you like that with a side of fries or mashed potatoes?

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 55 points 1 year ago

to build it to that accuracy the car would have to cost millions

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] dotslashme@infosec.pub 52 points 1 year ago

Jesus that thing just remind me of Lara Croft's boobs in the first tombraider game.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago

While holding this tight of a tolerance is standard for small sinple injection molded plastic part like Lego blocks (0.01mm tol. usually need some really good tooling though), it's not really possible to hold this tight of a tolerance for large sheet metal construction such as the Cybertruck body (Standard tolerance should probably be in the milimeter range at most. )

So, guess the Cybertruck is never coming out.

[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 33 points 1 year ago

Not a loss for humanity if that pedestrian killer doesn't come out.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (10 replies)
[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago

"Bad news guys... We're gonna have to delay production for just TWO MORE YEARS because of these woke microns! The good news though, you can get re-premium upgraded waitlist VIP positioning with a renewal deposit of only $500"

[-] iforgotmyinstance@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

Guarantee he has no understanding of metalwork. It's not tricky, it's an exact science.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Sordid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Wait, I thought he was just bullshitting his fans with that. He's actually serious? XD

Also, I don't understand what this has to do with bare metal construction of the Cybertruck and why that should present exceptional difficulties. DeLorean figured out how to make bare metal cars more than forty years ago, so it can't be that hard.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's an idea I would have supported when I was taking high school physics. My astronomy calculations I put to the nearest centimetre (something like 20 significant digits sometimes) for no good reason. Just writing down all the numbers from the calculator.

Then I took engineering and grew out of it. Sure some crucial parts need very tight tolerancing, but you also have to have it relative to the size of the part. And if your design is bad, better tolerancing isn't going to save you from stuff like the steering wheel popping out.

load more comments (10 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2023
899 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

59578 readers
2192 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS