Service manager statement: P3D has a different drive unit than 3D

[super20g]

Apologies if this has already been covered but I hadn't seen mention of confirmation from Tesla management prior.

I was talking to the service manager at the Indianapolis service center earlier about how customers are receiving 3D's at times with matching 3D monroney labels when they ordered and paid for P3D's. Then the service center's are just loading the Performance software on the 3D's to convert them to the P3D's that they paid for.

The service manager told me that they have had several of these instances at his location as well and that these cars are legitimate P3D's that had the 3D software loaded by mistake, but that the drive unit is indeed a Performance drive unit.

I questioned this again and he again assured me that there is indeed a unique part number for the Performance drive units that is different than for the AWD cars and that it is impossible to load the performance software on an AWD car if it does not have the performance drive units installed.

I know several on here were speculating that perhaps the 3D's and the P3D's share the same drive units and are just software limited unless you pay for the performance upgrade. Some were thinking that later down the road the 3D's may be able to be unlocked for money, so I just wanted to share that a Tesla service manager is confirming that the hardware is indeed different and required to enable the performance features.

 

[ulrichw]

This post is sort of like Elon's "Funding Secured" tweet.

What's confirmed is that a Tesla service manager told you that there is a specific drive unit. What's also confirmed is that Tesla employees have in the past routinely (and confidently) doled out false information.

Personally, I think nothing here's confirmed other than the service manager was trying to give you the answer he most thought you wanted to hear.

(Owner of a P3D- which came with a regular 3D Monroney sticker).

 

[Twiglett]

This was described by EM a while ago.
It isn’t a different design, just different testing before being tagged as suitable for P3

 

[jsrawa]

There is so much misinformation flying around from Tesla employees it’s unbelievable, take what they say with a grain of salt.

 

[Knightshade]

If I listed all the things I had "confirmed" by Tesla employees that turned out to be untrue I'd probably exceed the character count of a post here.

And that's just the stuff they told me before I even took delivery!

 

[JeffK]

I've had good experience with the Indy folks, but I'd like part numbers for confirmation.

 

[voip-ninja]

Your thread title is misleading. A typically poorly informed Tesla service person isn’t confirming squat.

 

[super20g]

I've had good experience with the Indy folks, but I'd like part numbers for confirmation.

I did ask the Indy service manager, Nick, for the part numbers but I haven't heard back yet.

But he did reaffirm there are hardware differences and looked into this issue on two different occasions for me when I told him the first time that I still had doubts.

 

[super20g]

Your thread title is misleading. A typically poorly informed Tesla service person isn’t confirming squat.

A mod can remove the 'confirmed' or change it how they want if desired.

I thought since a manager of a Tesla service center, not just a service tech or sales guy actually looked into it twice and reaffirmed there are different parts, that that was kind of confirmed.

Wouldn't he be able to just easily pull up the part numbers in their software and confirm?

 

[SarahsDad]

I asked a Tesla showroom employee in early May when a Performance Model 3 might be coming out. He confidently told me that wouldn't happen "before the end of the year" and "not before the Model S refresh" because it would "obviously cannibalize Model S sales."

The Performance Model 3 was announced the next week. So yeah, I'm not sure I'd put much faith in a Tesla employee's comments...

 

[gaswalla]

'Difference secured'

 

[Gavyne]

For what it's worth, I think Tesla service folks are a lot more competent and reliable than showroom employees or delivery specialists. So I wouldn't compare what wrong information you may have heard during your delivery experience and compare that to the words of a service manager.

I have no idea if the info given in this case is true or not. But I hate to read about people's bad experiences with showroom employees or phone staff and compare them to the fine service folks that honestly have been one of the better parts of Tesla.

 

[nwdiver]

I questioned this again and he again assured me that there is indeed a unique part number for the Performance drive units that is different than for the AWD cars and that it is impossible to load the performance software on an AWD car if it does not have the performance drive units installed.

Of course they have a different part number... that doesn't mean they're not virtually identical and the non-P is just a software limited version of the P. An intel Core i5 is virtually identical to an intel Core i7 they're just binned by performance. The i5 is a software limited i7. The Non-P is software limited P.

Similarly 300w and 305w solar panels have different part numbers... but they're physically indistinguishable aside from a ~1% performance difference. Whether P and non-P inverters are binned was never questioned. Elon tweeted info on this a while back.

No different than a i5 vs i7... slightly different performance due to manufacturing inconstencies inherent in solid state components... software limited to a different specification.

 

[super20g]

So yeah, I'm not sure I'd put much faith in a Tesla employee's comments...

I just figured that the manager of a Tesla service center, who would be ordering these parts and have software at his fingertips where he should be able to just pull up the parts list to see what he would order for a replacement performance drive unit would be able to have a legitimate honest confirmation on this more than the typical employee. Hopefully this information is still good...

 

[super20g]

Of course they have a different part number... that doesn't mean they're not virtually identical and the non-P is just a software limited version of the P.

Since the service manager said it wasn't possible to load the performance software on an 'AWD' model that doesn't have the P drive units, it just seems off that they would be exactly the same parts, just with different test results and different part number tag, but I can see what you're saying. Perhaps that was misunderstood by the manager, and perhaps you could still load the software on a 'normal' AWD, just might have a shorter lifespan?

 

[nwdiver]

Since the service manager said it wasn't possible to load the performance software on an 'AWD' model that doesn't have the P drive units, it just seems off that they would be exactly the same parts, just with different test results and different part number tag, but I can see what you're saying. Perhaps that was misunderstood by the manager, and perhaps you could still load the software on a 'normal' AWD, just might have a shorter lifespan?

It's probably not 'possible' in the same way it's not 'possible' to run an i5 like an i7. You can... you'd just have to hack it and run the risk of burning because it IS a slightly inferior processor / inverter...

 

[privater]

So they did change motor with in 30 minutes. I ordered a Performance 3. The car at delivery was an AWD.

 

[voip-ninja]

So they did change motor with in 30 minutes. I ordered a Performance 3. The car at delivery was an AWD.

He is indicating that the car monroney sticker was wrong and it had the right parts all along.

I have continued to assert that either the P models have a different motor part # or they don't. If they do have a different part # then 100% of the cars that have been "fixed" back to P have to have had the correct motors installed.

It's also possible that Tesla sells some surplus P cars as AWD and can switch them back to P if they get an order for a P in that color.... but again, it's being asserted here that 100% for sure, there are different part #s for P motors and 100% of the cars that have been delivered with wrong monroney stickers simply have monroney sticker wrong and were P calls all along and no software fix makes them P models.

 

[4chi]

First post here, I had been posting in the tesla.com forums but I'm looking for more information.

I ordered a regular AWD. I paid for an AWD. All paperwork and window stickers say nothing about P. I have no door stickers that I can find that say anything informative about the build type.

But I definitely have red underlines under dual motor on the car screen and my app, and I can definitely put it "sport" acceleration. And based on some very unscientific 0-60 tests, I'm getting low 3 seconds. Car is not P+, I have no red brakes, etc.

So while this seems to be great, I do have lingering concerns about the possibility that this is P software put on a car that was not made to handle it.

So which is it?:

1. They put P software on non-P hardware.
2. They put P software on P hardware.
3. They put P software on the hardware and there is no P or nonP hardware, just hardware.

I really don't know.

 

[brobinson]

Tesla employees should learn to say "I don't know, but I can try to find out" instead of just trying to make people happy and spread misinformation.