Summary / Reader Response Draft #4

The article, “A Critical Review of Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles” introduced the latest Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive electric motor system that was utilized on the Tesla Model S Plaid electric vehicle (Lee, Hua, Long, Jiang, & Iyer, 2021). The function of an electric motor system is to propel an electric vehicle forward by using electricity. The Tesla “All-Wheel Drive” system used a system of independent front and rear motors (Tesla, n.d.). The same article stated that the system allowed improvements in both capability and traction, thus enabled quick responses from the accelerator pedal. The Tesla “Tri Motor” configuration utilized all four wheels with a total of three AC induction motors that are generated by a 407-volt lithium-ion battery pack (Owen, 2023). The motors are uniquely carbon-wrapped (Crider, 2021), and featured an improved heat pump and thermal system (Dent, 2021). In stark contrast, the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive system utilized in the Tesla Model S lacked some of these improved features. With the several enhanced features of the “Tri Motor”, it is an improvement compared to the “Dual Motor”.

The Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive has three motors that are carbon-wrapped, which is an enhanced feature. The carbon-wrapping allows the rotor to achieve a higher RPM as the carbon sleeves largely prevent the copper rotor from enlarging due to radial acceleration (Crider, 2021). The carbon-wrapped motors were lighter in weight (Addcomposites, n.d.). The same web article states there were four key benefits to having carbon-wrapped motors. Firstly, it allows an increase in efficiency due to generating less energy to spin because of its lighter weight. The motor still attains 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 less energy to propel, which results in longer battery life. Lastly, a reduction in weight leads to lesser material production, which results in the decrement of the carbon footprint of electric vehicles.

Another enhanced feature of the Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive is its enhanced heat pump and thermal system (Dent, 2021). The heat pump has a 30 percent improvement in cold weather ranges. The same article also mentioned the heat pump requires 50 percent less 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 service lifespan (Ewing, 2021). The enhancement of the heat pump and thermal system shows why the “Tri Motor” is an improvement over the “Dual Motor”.

When the statistics of the motors were compared in terms of engine specifications, the Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive that is utilized in the Tesla Model S Plaid showed why it is an improvement over the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive that is equipped in the Tesla Model S (Tesla, n.d.). According to the same Tesla website, 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. In addition, its top speed is up to 200 mph with added hardware upgrades (Dean, 2023). Its maximum output is 1020 horsepower. For its range, it can cover between 348 to 396 miles, depending on the wheel selection (Tesla, n.d.). The Tesla Model S, in contrast, can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 3.1 seconds. Its top speed is 149 mph, and its maximum output is 670 horsepower. When the statistics are compared above respectively, it can be seen how enhanced 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. Nonetheless, the Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive utilized in the “Plaid” still outshined the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive equipped in the "Model S" in other aspects of the statistics, which thus shows why it is an 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). The enhanced upgrades that are available to take the top speed up to 200mph (Dean, 2023), could be a huge safety concern as the potential for recklessness is there.

Regarding the issue of recklessness, it is hoped that the buyers of the Tesla Model S Plaid exercise caution and follow the speed limits responsibly. In conclusion, the enhanced features and presented statistics shows how the Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive is ultimately an improvement over the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive.

 

References

Addcomposites. (n.d.). How Tesla's 'Carbon-Wrapped' Motor with AFP could revolutionize electrification in Automotive.

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

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

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

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

Ewing, S. (2021). Tesla Model S Plaid offers repeatable 0-to-60 times, better cold weather range, Musk says. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-model-s-plaid-performance-cold-weather-ev/

Lee, C., Hua, W., Long, T., Jiang, C., & Iyer, L. (2021). A Critical Review of Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles. IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology, 2, 471-485. 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/

Tesla. (n.d.). Model S. https://www.tesla.com/models/design#overview

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