Elon Musk highlighted the need for high-quality standards and “single-digit micron” tolerance with the Cybertruck due to its straight edges in a leaked email to Tesla employees.
Today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that he test drove a production candidate Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas.
Presumably, he also surveyed the Cybertruck production at the plant and the quality that the pickups Tesla is currently producing ahead of the official production start.
He came out of it with an interesting thought that he shared in an email to Tesla employees that leaked (first reported on Cybertruck Owners Club):
Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb.
All parts for this vehicle, whether internal or from suppliers, need to be designed and built to sub 10 micron accuracy.
That means all part dimensions need to be to the third decimal place in millimeters and tolerances need be specified in single digit microns. If LEGO and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we.
Precision predicates perfectionism.
Elon
Musk noted that the design of the Cybertruck, with its sharp edges and stainless steel finish, makes every imperfection look worse.
The CEO suggests that the Cybertruck needs to achieve a level of accuracy in the single-digit micron range on all parts in order for the fit and finish to look perfect.
He compared the approach to the requirements of products like LEGO and soda cans, which Musk has praised before for the high volume manufacturing.
In the past, Tesla has often been criticized for its fit and finishes, but it is generally accepted that it has improved over the years, and now Tesla’s latest products, like the Model Y, are better reviewed in that regard.