Tesla To Retire It's Much Copied Skateboard Chassis Calling It Obsolete

After the challenging ramp of the original Tesla Roadster, the electric car maker opted for a clean-sheet design for its next vehicle, the Model S sedan. Through these efforts, the Tesla team was able to come up with a “skateboard” concept, which involved placing the battery pack at the floor of the vehicle and the electric motor between the rear wheels.

Tesla’s skateboard design became iconic, and it was only a matter of time before other carmakers from veterans like Audi and newcomers like Rivian were adopting the same concept for their respective EVs. Yet, if recent comments from the third-quarter earnings call are any indication, it appears that Tesla is now poised to abandon the skateboard that it practically pioneered in favor of the structural battery packs that were announced on Batter Day.

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trmckin - 10/22/2020 4:12:44 PM

+3 Boost

So the new offering will make it easier than ever to total your vehicle with minor damage...??

At least with the skateboard, you can replace the battery packs with relatively little work to the vehicle.

SanJoseDriver - 10/22/2020 5:06:39 PM

+2 Boost

I think the pack will still be detachable, but damage to the pack will be EXTREMELY unlikely. There will be even more of a buffer below and to the sides of the car. Someone did a render of how many cells would be needed to replace the Model 3/Y pack, and there could be an entire foot of empty space on all 4 sides of the new pack compared to the old ones. The increased rigidity should also minimize the chances of the pack getting damaged.

trmckin - 10/22/2020 9:43:50 PM

+2 Boost

I’m far from a car designer but if the batteries become part of the structure, by definition a crash with structural damage would result in costly work that could easily exceed the value of the vehicle. Body on frame or even unibody for that matter, there is a break even point for what is worth fixing. Adding batteries to the structure only makes those repairs more challenging and expensive. Without seeing how they are incorporated, it’s impossible to claim that the rigidity would minimize the damage to the pack.

It’s clear Tesla has a huge lead in tech. I’d like to see them actually move into the world of truly testing vehicles and improving the quality of their current products before trying to reinvent the wheel with an unproven frame and battery pack. Ive considered a model S and 3 in the past for my work commuting and daily driving needs but I can’t get over the lack of build quality. When my wrangler has better panel gaps, paint and build quality, something at Tesla is very wrong at those price points.

SanJoseDriver - 10/23/2020 2:57:25 AM

+1 Boost

The S and 3 both have great build quality today, Y looks much better, X I would be nervous about unless you really need the extra room.

On battery day they went into pretty great detail. The gaps between the batteries are going to be filled with an epoxy, so it will be like one giant solid plate. The rigidity of a convertible with a pack like that would be greater than an SUV. If you get into an accident, you should just have to replace an exterior panel and not the battery pack.

The 3/Y have had a phenomenal track record in not having batteries damaged in accidents. There was a 3 that fell 30 feet and the battery did not ignite. So a smaller, more rigid pack would be even more difficult to crack.

A 75KWh pack will eventually cost $4k to manufacture in 2-3 years, even if it was damaged the car might not be totaled, but if I was in an accident that made it all the way to the pack I would want the car to be totally. I don't think that car will ever be the same.

MrEE - 10/23/2020 9:38:27 AM

+2 Boost

The life of the Tesla battery is such that it never will need replacement. Major crashes almost always result in todays autos being totaled, if not best to sell repaired vehicle. The future front and rear castings will take out the imprecise and labor expensive structural repair and make repairs easier for front/rear collisions. Tesla in widening their lead.