For years, we’ve heardcriticisms about Tesla’s fit and finish, but now Sandy Munro—CEO of a Detroit-areaconsultancy that tears apart and studies automobiles—has seen a new Model 3 up close. His thoughts: “I can’t imagine how they released this.”
Autoline’s John McElroy spoke with engineering and manufacturing expert Sandy Munro about one of his company’s newest tear-down acquisitions: a Tesla Model 3. Munro was unimpressed with the build quality.
Munro seems especially frustrated by the fit and finish. He mentions the front doors, whose handles are too difficult to open, and whose glass seems to just bounce around inside the panel. As you can see in the image below, Munro notes an extra piece of glued-on sealing material for the driver’s window, saying:
This is an afterthought or something...You’re not supposed to just glue on another piece. Usually you take whatever’s wrong and pull it out and put another one in...Geez, I never saw that before.
The head of the company that specializes in benchmarking also points out the panel gaps, saying:
The gaps on this car are like—you can see ’em from mars. This is really, not so good.
He goes on later in the video, pointing out the big rear trunk panel gaps, remarking:
Let’s just have a look at...the gaps. If we look over here, I can barely get my fingernail in. And if we look over here...I can almost put my thumb in. This is... very unusual...The tolerance stack-ups on this car are just, like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Not since... the ’70s or something.
Ian Taylor
He continues, seemingly baffled by what he’s seeing:
I don’t understand how it got to this point. These are flaws that we would see on a Kia in the ’90s or something...I can’t imagine how they released this. It’s just a surprise. A really big surprise for me.
In addition to the fit and finish issues, Munro also talks about how hard it’s going to be to tear into the Model 3, calling it a “miserable job,” and labeling Tesla engineers as “definitely electronics snobs.” He backs this up by showing how difficult it is to get to the “Front Trunk First Responder Loop,” which shuts off the high voltage system and disables the airbags.
To open the frunk, where the loop is located, when the vehicle has no power requires sending 12-volts to two cables found behind a plastic trim piece in the bumper (see the diagram below). Munro also expresses frustration with the “Rear Pillar First Responder Cut Loop” at the rear pillar, which has to be severed with a circular saw.
Luis Campbell
well well
Aiden Martin
Munro also chides the Model 3's lack of a mechanical door handle in the rear. Up front, there’s a little lever in addition to the electric door-opening switch, but in the rear there’s not. In the case of an emergency that cuts the car’s power, Munro says, you’d have to fold the seats back and exit through the trunk. (Obviously, you could go through the front seats as well).
In addition, Munro notes the high efforts required to close the rear hatch, saying:
This is really a heavy load. The efforts for this car are higher than almost anything we’ve ever seen. Not since the ’90s have Iseen closures like this. So that’s a bit of an issue as well.
Benjamin Williams
>wow theres gaps which may or may not have been deliberate >wow doors and hatch are so hard because i'm a weak beta male
Cameron Walker
>jalopnik
Into the trash.
Isaac Reed
GM and Ford are scared of Tesla
Mason Turner
If you ever been inside a Tesla, you’d know he’s right about the fit and finish.
He is a fucking scam artist. I`m ready for his next scam, where idiots will pour money into some shit they just promise. Then he moves on...
Logan Wright
FWIW I drive an f10 5 series, had a play with a model 3 and its cheap junk in comparison, I'll wait for BMW or Mercedes to jump on the ev bandwagon.
Ian Roberts
>b.. but muh elon musk
Nathan Clark
>discussing cars with co-workers >Tesla comes into the discussion >they say it's awesome and the new luxury car >I tell them current Tesla models are barely functional and they should wait at least 10 years before even considering getting one >they all disagree with me I feel alone.
Dylan Ramirez
He's good at scamming leftists out of their money. I can't blame him.
Benjamin Turner
based fucking slovak! >jalopnik not even once
Isaac Rogers
BMW already has a quality ev out, it just looks like shite which is why you never see it around. Between Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto, I've only ever seen two of them.
Jack Brooks
looks like a generic European car desu.
Samuel Ortiz
Meh, you're the smart one There won't be a tesla in 10 years without the suckers like your co-workers
Jordan Miller
Something like my car with an electric drivetrain is what I'm waiting for.
Jose Morgan
Apart from the quality issues and the fact the cars are dependent on gibs, they hardly produce any. Since they don't understand basic economics and have higher costs than they get, they need the money of pre-orders to maintain the bubble. It will fail monumentally, a lot of people who pre-ordered and made a part payment will neither see their car nor their money back. Mark my words.
Tyler Johnson
They also have their electric Lamborghini lookalike which is absurdly expensive, and I have never seen a single one.
Asher Rodriguez
I don't know why they can't put out an EV in their other form factors, even if it reduces effective mpg a bit. These things are ugly
Ayden Turner
ITT a bunch of musk haters who can't deal with this:
count your bongs brit, it's time for your daily dose of denial, jealousy, and tea
>Pretty cool tbqh but we're going to have a weird future where we're racing to shit up our LEO as fast as possible
yeah i watched a video on rocketlab's small rocket fast deployment program, pretty sweet
Levi Roberts
I work for Tesla. I won't give any information about me for obvious reasons, however I will confirm what the article says has allot of truth to it.
The model 3 is a severely overengineered vehicle, that loses the forest for the trees in terms of providing an EV that is also fun to drive and actually looks like a car. They have some very strong features but alot of detail is lacking.
These things plus every other EV currently on the market besides Tesla suffer a fatal flaw. They are fucking ugly. That wouldn't matter as much if Tesla didn't exist (look at how well the prius did and still does despite being an ugly pos) but with Tesla people see a better looking car, with a popular tech name, compared to these things. Marketing is big and Tesla has great marketing.
Anyway I suppose if anyone has any questions about the company or what it's like working there I'll answer them.
Adam King
I drive an infinit 2004 g35x
Jordan Smith
I've seen one or two in my town.
Kayden Foster
Making luxury cars is easier than making cheap consumer products.
When you make luxury you just use the bast everything and the massive price of a product covers all and any expenses.
When you make cheap products you have to make shit exactly bad enough to fail in the appropriate timeframe, it has to be shitty enough to provide profit at low price BUT no too shitty to scare off the mass consumer.
It's probably the first cheap thing Elon makes, no surprise he fucked up.
Brayden Harris
How pervasive is the feeling you're working for a kike?
Jalopnik after the Gawker bankruptcy has been a dumpster fire. Everyone who was worth a damn is gone. I'm not a fan of Elon or Tesla, but this just screams of a GM sponsored hit job. Chevy Bolt is released, no one cares. Model 3 has people waiting in line for a car.
Jack White
The explination is simple, the article glossed over it
its basically a car build by a bunch of college nerds, college nerds that might be good at programming and designing in AutoCAD
but they have 0 experience in actually building something in the real world, Tesla should hire a bunch of old school mechanics and body workers
its simply lack of craftsmanship and lack of common sense in solving real world problems
Carter Rivera
Ask me how I know you were paid to post this? Nigger
John Gutierrez
Does yor dad work for Nintendo?
Hunter Baker
>be american >build good cars
choose one
Jackson Richardson
>people waiting in line for a car So you're saying Tesla is the bugman toy of cars? Safe to assume the next tesla I see driving around it's got a soyboy in it.
Logan Richardson
also this, its different to mass produce something the first time and expect top tier hand made craftsman results
Joshua Long
I would buy a Chevy Bolt. I heard positive reviews about it.
People line up for Nintendo Switches, iPhones and Elon Flamethrowers too...
Jose Lee
or at least expect to be a good enough imitation of craftsmanship
Daniel Moore
Tesla is fucking themselves because they just wanted to hire san francisco nerd fags and forgot that to build something you need grease monkeys
No doubt it's a pond scheme. Tesla couldn't survive on merit alone.
Jayden Hernandez
It's not necessary to have mechanics and body workers. You just need to have a focus on tolerance stackup analysis and manufacturing repeat-ability (cpk analysis). It's basic geometry calculations like stuff a 6th grader can do. These engineers are just retard non whites. This is what you get when you let a bunch of fresh off the boat Indians and Chinese design your shit.
Ryder Wood
>I work for tesla >alot
Logan Hall
>spotted the tesla owner
Dominic Thompson
note a good ponzi scheme for now.
Gabriel Sanchez
My internal thoughts about Tesla have been confirmed by kek.
They are like Enron, they talk a big game, they get tons of press for being "innovative," but if you try to look for the actual business side of Tesla you will never find it.
Brandon Adams
Wouldn't be much different working for any other manufacturer. You did see some of the super bowl commercials last year right?
No, does your wife enjoy Ahmed's dick?
Daniel Walker
I'm phoneposting so will probably have typos.
Thomas Morris
>insert comment here about the supremacy of liberals and Silicon Valley
Jackson Perez
I don't watch tv and definitely not niggerball. Ok answer me this, what is the ethnic makeup of the different organizations. Is it a white engineering team or a H1B visa operation?
Jonathan Williams
Tesla finished?
That's more than can be said of their cars.
Lincoln White
No one is buying Chevy Bolts. They are better cars obviously. Of course GM is frustrated. This thing with Tesla's is like every normie lining up to buy a TVR in the 90's. Cheap-ish, unique, faster than it should reasonably be and shite build quality. They are also fashion buyers, so expect Tesla to implode once the next 'must have soy transpo' product is released.
Jaxson Rodriguez
>Be German >have to meet US emissions rules >whatDo.jpg >Italians over in Lamborghini division suggest lying >"Vhy didn't vie sink of zis earlier?!?!"
Mason Myers
>bretty nice
a certain group is considering prematurely taking the midnight meat train...
Blake Parker
exactly but like you said, its a manufacturing issue, i am sure in their CAD plans the cars are perfect hahah obviously, but since they are just a bunch of experience-less nerds, they cant translate designs into reality
they need maybe some good manufacturing quality management, some boots on the ground level managing and quality department
but when you have no experience shit like that always happens, look at guns or any mechanic shit, like locks and stuff like that, we have come a long way since the days of having to use a file to carve the pieces from solid chucks of metal
Chase Ortiz
Not even a good larp, amerimutt
James Nguyen
>more environmentally dangerous than 9 V-8's in their entire lifetime of service >1910's Ford Factory slave camp labor >the nose
How is anyone still getting fooled by this shit?
Austin Morris
I don't work anywhere near engineering, I work as a repair technician at a service location. That being said, the amount of HR involvement in the company, and all the diversity shit, is definitely pervasive, so I'm going to go with the latter.
Brayden Jackson
What is the market for the cars tho? The car could be a pile of junk, but Tesla has a big brand. Does this actually even mean anything for their sales except that they made an over-engineered car?
Sebastian Hill
like the other guy said, 10 years and a billion dollars later, they will get there
they are in the shitting their pants stage
but like i said, i think they would go a lot faster is the company wasnt so much "faggot" oriented hahaha
Chase Kelly
It was pretty obvious that they had cheated something as every other diesel required additive. I can't believe it took the gov so long to figure it out.
Jace Green
What year do you have? I’m going to be buying a 2015 or 2016 535i soon
David Lee
>larping on a filipino board game enthusiast forum
Nah just woke up and bored. Working for Tesla isn't worth larping over anyway. It's just a decent paycheck.
Ryan Barnes
Yeah why is it so faggot oriented? I think Elon Musk must be a huge faggot to work with.
Ryan Edwards
God, I hate this fanboyism so much.
The fucking normies , should just fucking die. How do they even have this much disposable income?
Lincoln Sanchez
The San Jose plant is also very dated.
Colton Powell
It is the cheap Tesla targeting the mass consumer who buy Ford Focus and the likes of it.
Brody Ross
SHUT IT DOWN!
Justin Nguyen
I see these shitboxes all the time t. long island
Justin Collins
>be yuro >can't even win touring race against a bathtub with a truck engine
Nicholas Ross
as a eurofag I can say it's terrible don't know about american standards tho why the fuck do you want everything on a single screen? that's annoying as fuck because everything is now 2 steps away shit finish shit user friendliness muh acceleration srsly wtf
>How do they even have this much disposable income? I wonder that too. Something in my life isn't working because I make less money than teachers, chefs, accountants, etc. and I'm an engineer. Makes me want to rent a Tesla and drive it off a cliff.
Juan Sanchez
>This is an afterthought or something...You’re not supposed to just glue on another piece. Usually you take whatever’s wrong and pull it out and put another one in...Geez, I never saw that before. Dude you will be absolutely amazed what wetbacks will try and get away with, and I guarantee that was some wetback work. That stuff is a big part of the the illusion of them being such hard workers, everytime they fuck something up they just glue that shit back on instead of going up the chain,
Alexander Carter
It's called "growing pains" and businesses get that sometimes.
Jacob Sanchez
Those cars are artificially equalized (different restrictor size, weight...). It's all rigged.
Caleb Peterson
And it looks like shit. Everything full of smeary fingerprints, I have seen one. There is a reason others don't do this. They lack decades of experience and think it is a design game.
Adam Edwards
As long as liberals buy it, Musk is golden. He is like Bitcoins, up up and to the Moon!
Jaxon Allen
I'm sure I can explain this is away you would understand.
Just like with Trump cultists, no one gives a shit about flaws or crimes or lies or anything at all.
Samuel Scott
usually rigged against americans, they like making us add weight and restrictor plates to the vehicles because of the higher engine displacements
Isaac Butler
A nobody engineering firm trashes a well known company to gain free publicity. Nothing new.
Ethan Reed
Fit and finish are not as important as engine and drivetrain
Isaiah Allen
>why the fuck do you want everything on a single screen? This, i only saw stupid meme cars like that in car salons and this is the thing that made me go pic related its fucking retarded i want god damn buttons that i can find even though im not looking
Jose Thomas
I remember the "FEATURES" guy on YT who likes to review cars said: >It just feels like a luxury car, TESLA
Don`t know what to think
Daniel Clark
>being progressive is not about logic or making things better
Adrian Fisher
It's nothing more than a cult of personality around Musk
Robert Rogers
We've never seen gaps like these john
Aaron Brooks
>American cars
Cameron Smith
I drove one for two days, they are are alright.
Sebastian Richardson
I’m waiting for a 4x4 pickup or a Quigley to get a 500 mile range , until then my Jeep Wrangler will suffice.
