Summary / Reader Response Draft #1

In the article, “A Critical Review of Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles”, it introduces the latest “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive” electric motor system that is being utilized on the Tesla Model S Plaid electric vehicle (Lee, Hua, Long, Jiang, & Iyer, 2021). The main function of an electric motor system is to propel an electric vehicle forward by using electricity. The Tesla “All-Wheel Drive” system uses independent front and rear motors. This allows improvements in performance and traction, thus enabling quick responses from the accelerator pedal. The Tesla “Tri Motor” configuration utilizes all four wheels with a total of 3 AC induction motors that is powered by a 407-volt lithium-ion battery pack (Owen, 2023). With the several enhanced features of the “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive, it is undeniably an improvement compared to the “Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive” motor that is utilized on the Tesla Model S.

The “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive” has 3 motors that are carbon-wrapped, which is an enhanced unique feature. The motive behind it is to allow the rotor to achieve a higher RPM as the carbon sleeves largely prevents the copper rotor from expanding due to radial acceleration (Crider, 2021). Due to the motors being carbon wrapped, it weighs lighter. There are 4 key benefits to having carbon-wrapped motors (Addcomposites, n.d.).  Firstly, it allows an increase of efficiency due to generating lesser energy because of its weight. Despite the reduced weight, the motor can still attain the same level of mechanical energy. Secondly, the carbon-wrapping improves the electric vehicle’s acceleration and top speed due to its lighter weight. Thirdly, with a lighter rotor, the electric vehicle requires lesser energy to move which in turn results in longer battery life. Lastly, a lighter weight leads to lesser material production which results in the reduction of the carbon footprint of electric vehicles. 

Another enhanced feature of the “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive” is that it has an improved heat pump and thermal system (Dent, 2021). The new heat pump has a 30 percent improvement in cold weather ranges. It also requires 50 percent lesser energy for heating the cabin in freezing conditions. This enhanced feature benefits the electric vehicle entirely as it will experience minimal degradation in cold weather circumstances which is a critical factor for its overall liveability.

When comparing statistics, the Tesla Model S Plaid evidently shows why it is an improvement over the Tesla Model S. The Tesla Model S Plaid can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 1.99 seconds, with the first foot of rollout subtracted (Tesla, n.d.). In addition, its top speed is up to 200 mph with added hardware upgrades (Dean, 2023). Its maximum output is at 1020 horsepower. For its range wise, it can cover between 348 to 396 miles depending on the wheel selection (Tesla, n.d.). The Tesla Model S on the other hand, can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 3.1 seconds. Moreover, its top speed is just at 149 mph. Furthermore, its maximum output is at only 670 horsepower. When we compare the statistics above, we can clearly see how superior the Tesla Model S Plaid is as compared to the Tesla Model S. The only statistic that beats the Tesla Model S Plaid is that the Tesla Model S range is between 375-405 miles, which is slightly higher in comparison. But nonetheless, the "Tri Motor" still outshines the "Dual Motor" in all other aspects of the statistics which thus shows clearly shows the improvement.

One problem with the “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive” is that, having a top speed of up to 200 mph in a vehicle, could be dangerous and could cause potential accidents if reckless driving is involved. There was an article that reported a man drove the Tesla Model S Plaid at 116 miles an hour in a 30 miles an hour zone area and crashed the car. The crash killed 2 people and a dog sadly (Walser, 2021). With the enhanced upgrades that are available to take the top speed to 200mph, it could be a huge safety concern as the potential of recklessness is there.

Considering the issue of recklessness, we can only hope and pray that the buyers of the Tesla Model S Plaid follow the speed limits of the road strictly. All in all, with the enhanced features and statistics shown above, we can see that the “Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive” is ultimately an improvement over the “Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive” evidently.

References

Lee, C., Hua, W., Long, T., Jiang, C., & Iyer, L. (2021). A Critical Review of Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles. IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9664303

 Owen, J. (2023). The 12 Best Features Of The Tesla Plaid. Slashgear. https://www.slashgear.com/848196/the-12-best-features-of-the-tesla-plaid/

 Crider, J. (2021). More Details On Tesla’s Innovative Carbon-Wrapped Motor. CleanTechnica. More Details On Tesla's Innovative Carbon-Wrapped Motor - CleanTechnica

 Addcomposites (n.d.) https://www.addcomposites.com/post/how-tesla-s-carbon-wrapped-motor-with-afp-could-revolutionize-electrification-in-automotive

 Dent, S. (2021). Tesla shows off the $130,000 Model S Plaid’s performance. Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/tesla-model-s-plaid-first-deliveries-075110301.html

 TESLA (n.d.) https://www.tesla.com/models/design#overview

 Dean, G. (2023). Tesla Model S Plaid is so fast it breaks records. Learn about cost, horsepower, and comparisons to other EVS. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-s-plaid

 Walser, A. (2021). Tesla driver arrested after 116 mph crash kills two people and a dog. ABC Action News. https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/tesla-driver-arrested-after-116-mph-crash-kills-two-people-and-a-dog