Watching this video is adding some anecdata to my hunch
youtu.be/i-c8AUeKs5c

Teslas basically stall the motors to generate heat, then pump coolant into the motor and transfer it into the battery pack. People seem to think this is really clever, and I think it's actually really stupid. Like, phenomenally stupid.

You cannot heat the battery pack quickly when you need to heat up the thermal mass of the motors first.

How hard is it to put a PTC heater in the car which can immediately heat the coolant?

I mean, the Bolt has one. My Ioniq 5 has one. It's not that expensive of a part.

And it directly heats the water, it doesn't lose heat to the atmosphere, so it's going to be much faster and much more efficient.

At least, I would think so. I'd love to see if other people have experimented with this. The Tesla taking more than a half hour just to start charging seems abysmal.

@TechConnectify When you really look closely at Teslas, you see these signs of extreme parts and cost cutting everywhere. Radars, parking sensors, dashboard, buttons, heaters, even USB ports.... It seems like Space Karen desperstely wanted to speed up production and maximize margins.

@jernej @TechConnectify A lot of that "cost cutting" is also weight savings, which matters a lot for already-heavy electric cars.

@pete @jernej @TechConnectify true, but that was the excuse that a lot of car makers used when trying to justify cost cutting in economical cars.
It's still an excuse. Removing tactile controls isn't appreciably cutting weight or aesthetic, but it cuts a few hundred out of manufacture.

Follow

@Stinkie @jernej @TechConnectify Yes, tactile controls I agree aren't worth the cost/weight reduction. But for things like battery heaters, I'm not going to second guess the engineers.

@Stinkie @jernej @TechConnectify Also, IIRC the removal of USB ports was purely due to supply chain issues and you could get them reinstalled later at the dealer once parts became available again.

@pete @jernej @TechConnectify
It's the same reason why the weather resistant handles and charge door weren't implemented.
It had nothing to do with the design engineers.

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Mastodon

The social network of the future: No ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization! Own your data with Mastodon!