Tesla didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The inner dynamics and NVH—noise, vibration and harshness—report leaked to Handelsblatt incorporates take a look at outcomes measuring the efficiency of the alpha model of the Cybertruck in opposition to projections made utilizing computer-aided design (CAD) simulations, and in opposition to inner benchmarks. In abstract, it presents an image of a prototype automobile that’s leaky, noisy, and has poor dealing with and braking.
“It’s an alpha-stage vehicle, so it’s not surprising that it’s some way off its targets,” says Andy Palmer, the former COO of Nissan and CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda, who has greater than 40 years of expertise in the automotive trade. Palmer says he’s shocked at the frankness of the report. “You’d be giving the engineers that wrote this stuff a good bollocking. You don’t normally write this down.”
The report says that the alpha model of the Cybertruck needed to be hand-sealed, however that “there are a number of areas that we do not have a clear path to sealing” in a manufacturing model of the automobile. This is a matter not only for retaining the climate out, however for noise in the cabin. Data in the report reveals that the alpha model was considerably noisier than engineers had projected based mostly on their designs, and that testers had recognized 21 potential noise leaks in the physique of the automobile.
Tesla vehicles have a history of leaking, and the report hints that the Cybertruck’s uncommon design could have sophisticated engineers’ makes an attempt to correctly seal it. “Body manufacturing and paint shop processes have struggled to seal bodies for optimal NVH performance in the past, and the Cybertruck design presents new challenges,” the report says.
Handling was additionally a priority for the alpha Cybertruck. The report famous a lot of points, together with “excessive mid-speed abruptness and chop,” “high head-toss accelerations,” and “structural shake.” It stated that the truck skilled “excessive lateral jerk during low-speed maneuvering” and that it wanted to deal with issues with steering refinement and body roll. The EV’s strafe mode, a characteristic that enables the wheels to show to permit the automotive to “crab walk” sideways had “only basic functionality.”
Braking efficiency was one in every of the worst areas of the report. Tesla’s engineers had been aiming for a rating of seven, or “fair,” on the Society of Automotive Engineers rating scale, however the alpha model achieved solely a 4, or “poor” ranking. According to the report, in January 2022, the Cybertruck’s brake pedal stress pad was nonetheless underneath design, and so the alpha skilled “excessive pedal travel and inconsistent stop,” and “excessive pitch during friction braking,” braking throughout turning points, in addition to energy braking instability.
“The brake performance seems serious. I’m surprised they’re not further forward,” Palmer says, after being apprised of the content material of the report. Normally, the chassis, together with the braking system, is the very first thing that engineers work on, forward of the physique and different programs. “So to be only on prototype parts at this stage is quite late.”
