Tesla's Electric "brick" problem

So now we know there’s a $40,000 up charge….for the brick
Wonder if a 250 chev block will fit in one?

I have my doubts about the accuracy of the story Jalopnik is (re-)reporting. I can’t imagine any consumer having trouble winning a case against Tesla for selling an unfit product if this is a real problem. It’s obvious that they should have included a protective system of some kind.

I’ve been involve in a few incidents in the corporate world where a high failure rate in the customer’s environment was projected by engineering experimentation & calculations. When the customer failure rate is high, when the engineers say it’s high for a certain condition, that cannot be ameliorated, the “failure rate problems” quickly turns into a financial exercise.
When the failures make a material impact on profit, i.e., when they get significant enough to have to put excess material aside & dedicate significant production time to the replacement of the failed parts, an accounting must be accrued. This ‘reserve’ must be disclosed to stockholders. If the company is small, like Tesla, this could spell disaster.
My suspicion is that they have to “ignore” this problem inside Tesla. If they address the problem & if the engineers say it’s really large, then the accountants will have to move for a reserve against current earnings.
If the above scenario were to happen, Tesla has two brick problems: 1) dead car batteries & 2) a dead corporation.

It would never sell in Australia – everything here runs off powerboards and extension cords.

Even if you have a master kill,you have to shut down early like at 15% charge.so you give up. A good portion of your range.
It is a hazard, like reving an engine past redline til it ‘bricks’. Just another failure mode to be aware of.

How about a 2 stroke back up generator that cust on when the battery reaches a certain point??

Zac says: “But surely they can put in a device that cuts off the battery at a certain voltage?”
Well think about that for a moment. That would require some kind of a relay that would handle…what?…1000 Amps or something? You’re talking big bucks there.

All electric vehicles run essentially on coal. And remember what Obama said? “Electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket”. So who of you would buy a car where they’re basically guaranteed the “fuel” price is going to skyrocket?
It makes no sense whatsoever.

For those with proposals for engineering “fixes:” it’s like breathing. If humans don’t breath every so often, we die. If Teslas go too long, without being charged, they die, i.e., “brick.” There’s plenty of failsafe ideas, they just cost money & highlight the problem to everyone concerned.
They should have disclosed this as a material event to investors. But… it they did, their IPO would have been… you guessed it… a BRICK!

This happens with lead acid batteries used in telecommunications. The answer is called a “Low Voltage Disconnect” Google that term and you will find lots of people selling them. Clearly, the car should have one.

Then there’s the fun event where the 400 volt wiring to the two 250 hp rear electric motors get cut in an accident. Think MEGA arc welder going off in the back seat. The Prius is no prince either. Their Nickel Hydride pack are good for 400 recharge cycles. Then the pack costs $8,000 to replace. So….you save $1,000 per year on elec home charges over gas prices on the Tesla and every eight years you got a battery bill for $40k. The Prius saves $1,000 on gas every year and you kick in 8 large every 8 years. If this is not sounding like a practicle green solution, then read “Green Prince of Darkness” and figure out the solar cell erosion trick.