Electric cars have long been touted as being the future of the automobile industry, with there being a number of advantages associated with them, such as the positive impact that they can have on the environment because of the lack of harmful fumes that they omit when being used.
Tesla is one of the biggest – and most prominent – manufacturers within this niche sector, with many around the world instantly being able to play a game of word association with the brand and the automobile industry and putting them together.
There are a number of different models that are available to purchase on the market at the moment, whilst Elon Musk’s company continues to produce and manufacture new vehicles, as well.
However, what might not be well-known by many around the world when it comes down to the Tesla cars is the computers that are used within each model. In fact, there are various different models being used.
Which car model has which computer?
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles each have a cluster of computers that is known as ICE, whilst the Model S and the Model X features a computer that is known as the MCUv1, although this will likely have to be replaced in the future with MCUv2 retrofits likely to become available.
The Model S and Model X cars have two physical computer units, with one being for infotainment purposes (and is called the MCU) and is integrated with the central screen whilst there is a separate computer that is used for Autopilot, which is installed above the glove box.
The Model 3 car has a central screen – which is the only display in the entire vehicle – however it is detached from the infotainment computer and the Autopilot hardware, as the ICE integrates both computers together within a single unit.
Charging times
Naturally, being an electric car, Tesla vehicles will all need to be charged when they have been used as the electricity and power that they use will become drained over a certain number of miles.
It will depend on the type of charge and the amount of power available to use to fully charge a dead Tesla battery back to full health, with some taking considerably longer than others. As a guide, the following has been provided:
- Level 1 (120 V): 20-40 hours
- Level 2 (240 V): 8-12 hours
- Level 3 (480 V): 15-25 minutes
Level 1 is considered to be a regular household charging source, whilst Level 2 is commonly found at a charging station that may be found at a public station. Level 3 is a Tesla Supercharger and around 200 miles of range can be received within 15 minutes.
Of course, charging a Tesla can be time-consuming if not done overnight whilst an owner is sleeping, however there are a number of different things that can be done whilst waiting. For instance, the car is always connected to the internet meaning individuals can kill time by watching their favourite movies and TV shows, surfing the internet, as well as play some of their favourite casino games including roulette with a live dealer if they want to try and win big as they wait from the comfort of the driver’s seat for the vehicle to charge.
Why are they different?
Simply put, the unit that is used in the Model S/X can not be installed into a Model 3/Y, whilst the same can be said when looking at it the other way around. There are different interconnects (regular ethernet packaged into a nonstandard connector) for the S/X models, whilst there are also two fan connectors for the S/X to drive the fans whilst there are none that are on the Model 3.
Otherwise, there are not any other major differences to the units, although it should be noted that there are noticeable differences when looking at the ICE units that are used between the Model Y and Model 3. This could be down to the fact that Tesla wants to continue to improve their cars, however the question of using the same computers for each of their cars must surely arise?
Perhaps that is a move that they will look to do in the future, but for now, it would seem they are happy not to recycle the old computers as the cost of doing so is likely rather high and possibly even more expensive than just fitting a car with a new computer.