Comment by SEJeff
18 hours ago
Tesla’s machine vision research wing became xAI and the compute and resource were transferred over. SpaceX then bought cursor.ai, a small but goated frontier lab. They merged cursor with xAI and it’s now SpaceXAI. So each Tesla uses models trained by SpaceX AI.
The model s has always had Inconel in the frame for strength since relatively early on. But the Inconel came from SpaceX. Inconel is primarily used in aerospace applications. It made the frame of the model s so strong it broke the NTHSA machine used to test rollover strength. Look this up it is easy to verify.
SpaceX materials science has always been a big part of Tesla’s success since the very early beginning. Likewise inversely.
Ok I looked this up because I found it very strange.
Inconel would not be a good choice for an automobile frame. Not only is it expensive and heavy it also can be pretty brittle. You want a frame that's strong but ductile so that it will absorb impact energy.
From what I've been able to find, Tesla uses inconel in some battery components. This makes sense because the thing inconel is really good at is staying strong even when very hot. This is why it's used in turbines and jet engines.
This thread points out that inconel is not unused in the automotive world, high-end ICE cars have used it for their exhaust systems. Another advantage of inconel in this application is that it's highly corrosion resistant:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/inconel.50251/
So in summary: Tesla uses inconel where it makes sense to use it (to deal with high heat) and so do other automobile manufactures.
You’re absolutely right and I clearly remembered this incorrectly. I conflated the model S actually breaking the NTHSA press that crushes cars to test rollover strength with the fact that the model s does use Inconel. My apologies. I wasn’t acting in bad faith, just remembered wrong.
Inconel is indeed extremely hard and thus brittle. Used for high wear and grind parts on heavy machinery, not for framing.
I checked a few sources (including grok) for your inconel in struts claim as it seemed unlikely. They all said it was false.
Certainly there has been crossover in both directions, most famously in Musk forcing SpaceX to buy Tesla cybertrucks (18% of production at one point).
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50138131
I can’t see any documentation of income ever being used on an S.
Given that it costs 10x more than aluminum, it is highly unlikely to be useful as a material in a production car.
The frame breaking the NHSTA story is correct but is just well-designed aluminum.
I’m happy to be shown a reference I’m wrong.
from an archive of the “Three dog day” Tesla blog post that’s now deleted. Took me a few to dig up, but I wanted the primary source for you.
https://archive.is/Q7FFk
“”” That was combined with upgrading the main pack contactor to use inconel (a high temperature space-grade superalloy) instead of steel, so that it remains springy under the heat of heavy current. The net result is that we can safely increase the max pack output from 1300 to 1500 Amps. What this results in is a 10% improvement in the 0 to 60 mph time to 2.8 secs and a quarter mile time of 10.9 secs. Time to 155 mph is improved even more, resulting in a 20% reduction. “””