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Can custom car builders buy parts from Tesla?

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As a PASSIONATE Tesla supporter (buying a Model 3 - will be first on the reserve list) and an inventor/car builder I often dream of the day I could buy parts for our EV project from Tesla.
I've searched the Net for traction motors, found a few (YASA, DELTA - which I design systems for) but never any Tesla drive units.

As a drive design specialist (engineer VFD systems or 36 years for GE, Toshiba, Eaton, Schneider) I know the technology better than most and as a car enthusiast I often felt it would be super cool to bring an EV restomod to SEMA and blow away the typical hot rodder mentality with modern, computer driven EV technology.

As a 4 patent holder (owned the original patent back in 1989 for what is now known as Red-Box video) I am used to being way in front of the pack when it comes to dreaming. Why I love Elon so much.. He is exactly the same...


When we showed Ford our "new" 1972 Mach I
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they loved the design so much so we got sponsorships from both Eaton and Ford but I just cant get excited about putting 100 year fuel driven technology into a super modern drive by wire, touch screen controlled restomod.

But if we could only get the parts to make those dreams a reality....
 
You could probably get a drive unit from salvage. People have got batteries and such. However, the trouble is the unit will be very tightly integrated into the Tesla control system. It will probably not move one inch until it has exchanged an unlock code with the body control module (as part of the immobiliser system.) You may be able to use the motor alone though.
 
Long term, maybe. Short-medium term, no.

There are a good number of people who enjoy building their own cars, and those people are an asset to the auto industry and car buyers in general, but they are a minority. Tesla's goal is to get EVs to be the mainstream drive train of all cars, which is why they are focusing on getting affordable cars that can be bought by large numbers of people. Making parts available for separate purchase would be good, but the logistics involved make the cost a bit high, and focusing on cars for the masses is more important.

Further, custom electrics have existed for longer than Tesla Motors has, and you can still build a pretty good electric car on your own by converting your favorite chassis and body and putting in the drive train and battery. You don't need Tesla parts to make a good custom EV.
 
I suspect Tesla would greatly prefer that no one use their parts in conversions right now. Do it yourselfers, however intelligent and talented, have a greater chance of their car catching fire or otherwise injuring someone, which could make for really bad press for Tesla for something they have no control over. The up side doesn't outweigh the potential negatives for them right now.
 
It isn't what you wanted, and will involve a bunch more integration effort, by evwest is selling A/C motors with ~400 horsepower and controllers to match (actually a siamese pair of modified HVH250 motors like the GM two mode hybrid transmission used.)
Walter
 
You say that with such certainty. :) Better start planning how to get invited to the launch party! There are a few other people on this forum who might also be planning to be first.

If I'm in the first 10k of reservations, I'd be very happy. That should put me in the first month of production, even accounting for some ramp up. Hey Bonnie, can I be your guest at the launch party? :smile:
 
Check electric samba. They are recycling lap top batteries to build "Tesla Style" battery packs. They are working with EV West who does EV conversions and sells conversion kits. EV West may have battery packs available in the near future.
 
It isn't what you wanted, and will involve a bunch more integration effort, by evwest is selling A/C motors with ~400 horsepower and controllers to match (actually a siamese pair of modified HVH250 motors like the GM two mode hybrid transmission used.)
Walter
EV West - EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits - is also working with EVTV ( EVTV Motor Verks - Custom Electric Car Conversion Instructional Videos ) in terms of reporting progress of their projects, and EVTV is also - like you, desiring access to High Quality Tesla Components!