Tesla Engineered Clever Fixes to Cut Costs for Model S
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Tesla was strapped for cash when developing the Model S, so engineers had to get creative to save money on parts like the steering rack.
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They discovered a Land Rover steering rack that was almost perfect, but it was designed for right-hand drive vehicles.
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Engineers cleverly flipped the Land Rover rack upside down so it would work in the left-hand drive Model S.
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The rack's steering was too quick, so they engineered more "roll understeer" into the suspension to cancel out the over-responsive steering.
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Using common left/right suspension parts and extrusions instead of castings saved significant money on tooling.