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Did anyone bring a magnet to the reveal?
- Thread starter Bangor Bob
- Start date
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- Model 3
Rashomon
Member
Car and Driver said they did in their write-up. They reported finding almost no magnetic materials in the body, including the B-pillar. I wouldn't take it too seriously, however. There may be a lot of printed (minimally structural) panels on a prototype.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I cannot see how they could switch to steel from aluminum. Completely different process on stamping and recalibrating everything would probably cause all sorts of issues. Tesla needs to stay with their strengths, which is aluminum fabrication.
mcghee33
Member
In one of the videos I watched of people's experiences riding in the M3 last night answered this exact question. The Tesla driver said that it is made of a combination of steel and aluminum but they were not specifically addressing where or how much. He did say that it was more steel than aluminum.
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
I read that their panel presses could handle either AL or steel using different dies. I was surprised by that as I thought a totally different press was needed. Very smart, if true.
dandurston
Member
In the video I saw the driver said that it was a mix, and acknowledged the frame is mostly steel but didn't say anything about the panels.
EcoHeliGuy
Member
Not necessarily. But the Model 3 will have its own production line as stated repeatedly by Tesla
Majority of manufacturers do this now. A lot of vehicles have aluminum hoods. The F-150 is all aluminum on a steel frame.
I'm hoping its galvanized steel like VW uses, although current galvanizensing is very environmentally damaging
ibdb
Any excuse for a road trip
Our driver said it was a combination of steel and aluminum, but wouldn't venture a guess as to any sort of percentage breakdown.
