Tesla is always coming up with innovative solutions to solve problems large or small, and one such example was revealed at the Model S Plaid delivery event last week.
This is the first time that there’s been a production electric motor that had a carbon overwrap rotor and is the most advanced motor on the planet outside of a lab.
Elon Musk himself took to the scene and pointed out that this was pretty hard to do since carbon and copper have different rates of thermal expansion — it needs to be wound at extremely high tension in order to achieve a carbon overwrap rotor.
To achieve this goal the team had to design the machine that makes the carbon overwrap rotor. This was a first because no such machine ever existed before.
However, this gives Tesla another ability: making the electromagnetic field super-efficient while having a tight gap even at extremely high revolutions per minute (RPM).
The main benefit of the new motor is that the carbon sleeve rotor creates a stronger electromagnetic field than a rotor that is held together by metal. Elon pointed out that these are usually made with high-strength steel.
Another advantage is that the rotor can go to higher RPM, as the carbon sleeve prevents the copper rotor from expanding due to radical acceleration.
When Tesla designed the new carbon-wrapped motors, it created a land rocket — the quickest production car on the planet. It can reach a speed of 60 miles per hour in just 1.99 seconds.
Reference- Twitter, Electrek, Inside EVs, EV Obssesion, Tesla Website