Tesla Model 3 Battery Teardown, Tesla Stock Dive, & A Tesla Wobbling Wheel

Tesla Model 3 Battery Video

If you have 90 minutes free and feel like having a close encounter with a battery from a Tesla Model 3, Jack Rickard of EVTV has just the video for you. In it, he explains why he believes this battery is the quintessential electric car battery in the world today.

If you don’t happen to have that much free time, the high points of the video are summarized by Tesla Motors Club member CoastalCruiser, who provides this helpful summary:

• The 2170 cells are about 5 AH each (compared to 3.2 AH in Model S)
• All electronics having to do with charging and battery management — BMS, charger, DC-DC converter — are integrated into battery pack “penthouse” = design simplification
• Battery weighed in at 1,054 lbs
• Long Range battery capacity is 80.5 kWh — 78.27kWh usable
• Characterizes battery as probably the finest in the world (over VW, BMW, GM)
• The battery “charger” living in the penthouse is now termed the “Power Conversion Unit”, because besides converting AC to DC in order to charge the battery, it also converts high voltage DC to 12v DC to run 12v circuits
• Penthouse also has a connector for 3-phase AC charging, more common in Europe than USA. (3-phase charging equates to dramatically faster AC charge times)
• In addition to the single use “pyro” fuse, which blows (explodes) under certain over-current conditions, there are “three or four” fuses for air conditioning compressor, heater, etc.

Some thought there was entirely too little useful information provided, given the length of the video. Is that true? The only way to find out is to watch it yourself. If you know Jack Rickard of EVTV, you know what you’re in for. If you don’t, let’s just say, he doesn’t take the typical approach of YouTube millennials in his videos.

Adam Jonas Cuts Tesla Stock Price Forecast

Adam Jonas may be one of those annoying stock analysts who asks Elon boring questions during conference calls. Actually, he has seemingly been one of the analysts Elon Musk respects and appreciates from time to time. He covers Tesla for Morgan Stanley and has consistently been one of the more bullish TSLA analysts on Wall Street. Not any more. According to Bloomberg, Jonas recently sent a research note to his clients lowering his forecast for Tesla stock by 23% to $291 per share. He says he is less optimistic about the company’s long-term profit margins than he once was.

“The challenges in ramping up Model 3 production reflect fundamental issues of vehicle design, manufacturing process and automation levels that can weigh against the profitability of the vehicle,” Jonas wrote. He is likely referencing Tesla’s backtracking on factory automation, the company’s decision to add more labor to the process, and perhaps overall estimates of when Tesla will be able to produce 5,000 or more Model 3 sedans per week.

Tesla shares closed a $276.82 on May 18. The pre-market price at the moment for May 21 is $281.40.

The Mysterious Case Of The Wobbling Wheel

Model and actress Amy Weber has posted a video taken by her husband David Dginger that shows the right front wheel of her Tesla doing things it shouldn’t. The couple has brought the matter to the attention of their local Tesla service center on several occasions but the service people say they can’t find anything wrong with the car. Take a look at the video and decide for yourself if this car is safe to drive. Weber says she no longer feels safe driving it with her kids on board. Is she overreacting?

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of dealing with a service department dreads the standard “Could not duplicate customer complaint” pronouncement. This story was reported on May 14 by Inverse, which said it had contacted Tesla for a response but had not heard back from the company. As of May 21, the Inverse story has not been updated.