Tearing Into Tesla's Model 3
Autoline NetworkCited 4× on HN, 2018–2021
commentary · general · 2018–2021 on HN
Autoline's John McElroy visits Sandy Munro's shop, where a Tesla Model 3 is being prepared for a teardown benchmarking study. Munro, with deep design and manufacturing experience, points out issues he dislikes about the car's build.
Cited as an early expert critique of Model 3 fit, finish and manufacturing quality, and for its note on hard-to-find emergency door releases.
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4 comments from Hacker News
From this video, I learned that it's quite hard to find, and if you're in the back seat, there's no emergency mechanism at all. ▶ this video
> Most of the design tolerances of the Model 3 are already better than any other car in the world. Really? The Model 3's panel gaps are quite well-known among car owners. One example from Munro and Associates: ▶ this video How can Elon say this with a straight face?
That's consistent with the review by Sandy Munro [1] who reported really poor fit and finish quality - rattling doors, poorly fitted gaps around the trunk, and so on. Computer gamers know the perils of pre-ordering - you've got no recourse if the product has reliability, quality or completeness problems. I hope Tesla enthusiasts who pre-ordered realised the gamble they were taking. [1] ▶ this video and link
This teardown previously on HN: ▶ this video Convinced me that Tesla has some major issues in manufacturing. To get into a Model 3 with most of the features people want is closer to 45K, at which point you could get a pretty damn good car from another manufacturer. I'm cheering for Tesla, but come on, fit and finish should be on par with the best, not something I should have to overlook.