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Tesla quietly removed one of the two electronic control units in some domestic Model 3 and Model Y car bogies, including tens of thousands of vehicles delivered in China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and other parts of Europe, under the pressure of responding to the chip shortage crisis while meeting sales targets for the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a report by the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC). However, Tesla did not disclose this situation to the public.

According to reports, Tesla employees said in internal communication that if car owners want to achieve L3 autopilot function, that is, do not operate the steering wheel vehicle for autopilot, then the vehicle needs to have a dual electronic control unit system, and it may be difficult to achieve autopilot after removing one of them.

The electric power steering system controls the wheel rotation by reading the steering wheel steering of the owner. Its function is to convert the steering wheel rotation signal into the vehicle wheel steering. This part is used in the L3 self-driving scene, but Tesla has not achieved the L3 self-driving function, so the engineer thinks that this part is redundant and only supports the standby function at present. Removing the control unit will also save Tesla money in the short term, as long as there will be no problems with the system changes. Of course, if Tesla achieves L3 driving assistance and allows drivers to release the steering wheel, they will need a dual electronic control unit system, and these vehicles will need to be modified.

CNBC quoted Tesla employees as saying that Tesla had discussed whether to disclose it to users, and employees also discussed whether removing parts would reduce the safety, reliability or function of the car, but Tesla did not think it was necessary to inform customers of the news, at least until the L3 self-driving function was introduced.

Of course, in response to the relevant news, thepaper.cn contacted Tesla's official customer service, which said, "every vehicle we leave the factory must be in line with national regulations."

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time Tesla has been reduced because of the chip problem. Tesla quietly removed the waist support of the front passenger seat on the Model 3 and Model Y models in May 2021, CNBC reported. This function is also simply deleted without any discount or advance notice from Tesla. In response, Musk said on Twitter, "Tesla's log records show that the adjustable waist support function is almost not used." When it's almost never used and out of date, it's not worth buying for everyone. "

In November 2021, some Tesla owners reported that there was no USB interface in the central control and rear rows of the newly proposed vehicles, only holes were reserved, and the wireless charging function of mobile phones was also reduced, but Tesla did not inform consumers in advance of the reduction. Tesla official responded that the reason for the reduction is due to the shortage of chips and parts, and the USB interface is expected to be patched one after another from December.

Under the influence of the shortage of chips, many car companies can only try their best to reduce the impact of lack of core on car sales. In October 2021, for example, ideal Motors introduced a new delivery plan to deliver first and then reinstall radar. The content of its delivery plan: deliver three radar models with one front plus two rear angles millimeter wave radar for users, and carry out free reinstallation for users before the Spring Festival from December to next year. In November 2021, due to a serious shortage of radar chips, Xiaopeng delivered models that lacked millimeter wave radar, and the follow-up millimeter wave mines were reinstalled when they arrived. However, the above car companies all informed of the reduction and offered some price concessions to compensate consumers, while Tesla quietly removed the parts. at present, the incident has been widely publicized. I wonder what measures will be taken by car owners who have bought this part of the vehicle?

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