Tearing down of Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E was performed by the popular YouTuber, Sandy Munro. It showed the Mach-E uses 250% more parts than Model Y. Another notable difference is that the Model Y thermal system uses 10 hoses per 6.35 meters, while Ford uses 35 parts per 18.42 meters.
Tesla highly focuses on making sustainable products. This is why each vehicle is specifically designed with specific parts. This is in reference to Model Y’s effective thermal system. Where Mach-E uses almost 2 times more parts for the car to keep running. This is not the first time Munro did a comparison of Tesla cars and Ford cars. Earlier some of the features of Mach-E were found to be ahead of Tesla. Like, Ford’s door modules were much better. The Most recent comparison breaks down as follows,
- Part count: 35 (250% more than Model Y – 10)
- Length of hoses: 18.42 m (190% more than Model Y – 6.35 m)
- Fluid: 22.5 kg (143% more than Model Y – 9.2 kg)
Mach-E being the second-best EV ever to be manufactured in the industry, the huge difference with sustainability should be improved. Tesla always uses minimalistic design and focuses on efficiency.
First-principles and thinking
The mach-E thermal system was typically described as a “nightmare”. There were many twisted cacophony of hoses. Munro labels all the parts, and we can see the onboard chargers, inverter, C/DC converter, and pumps. And the pumps have a heat sink below which can’t be seen from above. Sandy Munro says that the parts are messy, especially as an engineer he says he finds them complex and not pleasing.
Having such multiple connectors could possibly lead to leaks and manufacturers usually focus on having minimal connectors. Interestingly, there is a part, “Scrap is draped”, the role of this unknown part is unclear. There is another part that seems unnecessary, sealed connectors. There is a box over them and seemed unpractical to be there because nobody would be using it.
Munro and Associates focus on such minimal things and suggest or help Ford and other car manufacturers. Munro says that big auto-manufacturing companies know what they do, but sometimes these things happen and it is important to let them know.
We can also see that the battery case was made of metal, which further increases the weight of the vehicle. Tesla Model Y is a much-appreciated model for engineers and manufacturing processes. Simon Alvarez from Teslarati mentions that Model Y is a design made for a renewable future and its sustainability matters largely in coming years.
