The auto industry has been in a state of panic for months as a shortage of chips has forced some automakers to stop production for long periods of time, even leaving dealers without cars to sell and car prices soaring. But one company seems to have managed to steer clear of the entire crisis — Tesla broke its own record quarter after quarter, selling nearly twice as many cars in 2021 as it did in 2020.
Any secrets? As the New York Times put it, Tesla and its voracious CEO rarely talk about "how the automaker maneuvered in other areas of the auto industry." However, it is becoming increasingly clear that Tesla's unified computing architecture and control over software is at least a major factor.
Like other automakers, Tesla can't get a sufficient number of chips. Unlike them, however, it is able to rewrite its software in order to take advantage of existing chips. The company said in its earnings report: "We have used alternative components and programming software to alleviate the challenges posed by these shortages. ”
But traditional automakers don't seem to have that option because their computing software and hardware are under the control of their vendors. The New York Times reported that in many cases, automakers also rely on these suppliers to deal with chipmakers, so they lack bargaining chips with chipmakers.
In an interview with The New York Times, Morris Cohen, a professor of education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said: "Tesla, born in Silicon Valley, has never outsourced their software — they write their own code, they rewrite the software so they can replace the shortage of chips with chips that are not in short supply." Other automakers can't do that. Tesla is in control of its own destiny. ”
Tesla's unified computing architecture hasn't made headlines like its eye-catching features like "dog mode" and "fart mode," but it's a pretty competitive advantage.
Now, 7 years later, traditional automakers realize they need to learn from Tesla and control the computer systems of their cars. According to The New York Times, Mercedes plans to use fewer specialized chips and more standardized chips in its upcoming models and write its own software.
In an interview with The New York Times, board member Markus Schfer said that in the future, Mercedes will "ensure that the car is equipped with customized, standardized chips." "Instead of a thousand different chips." He added that "probably others have gone down this path earlier." This "other" should be pointing to Tesla.