Proprietary Vehicle Design

Tesla Motor's number one point of pride is that their vehicles do not burn a single drop of gasoline ("Grabianowski"). Other car companies cannot compete Tesla's constant innovation and new designs and for its vehicles and company overall ("Tesla Battery").

Proprietary Vehicle Attributes

Surprisingly, Tesla vehilces are able to achieve all-wheel drive with a very small electric motor, relative to other cars. All of Tesla's vehicles can be purchased as all-wheel drive ("Tesla Models"). In fact, the approximate size of a Tesla car motor is very close to the size of a watermelon (Hedstrom). All-wheel drive is a rugged transmission system that allows for all four of the car wheels to be directly turned through connection to the steering wheel and engine. This type of transmission is preferable for rugged terrain and situations that are strenuous on the vehicle's operation.

Regenerative Braking System

One of the most intriguing and amazing aspects of Tesla vehicles is the regenerative braking system. The regenerative braking system generates usable electricity from the kinetic energy and mechanics of the vehicle braking. When driving, as soon as acceleration is released, regenerative braking immediately begins ("How Does"). Through regenerative braking, the induction motor switches to act as a generator. As the car brakes to a stop, the back wheels continue to spin, while the front wheels slow to a stop ("How Does"). The continuously spinning back wheels  power the motor that became a generator.

For an induction motor, the speed of rotation of the rotating magnetic field, R.M.F., is greater than the rotor speed ("How Does"). By alterering the current to the motor (Hedstrom), the rotor speed is made greater than the R.M.F. speed ("How Does"). The result is that the electric motor becomes a functional electric generator. Household generators act in the same way as the generator that is the Tesla motor, with teh rotor speed being greater than the R.M.F. speed ("How Does").

When the car is driving normally, an inverter monitors the incoming power frequency to maintain a continuous lower rotor speed than R.M.F. speed ("How Does").

The electricity produced from the back wheels spinning is processed in stator coils, which then transfer this electricity to the main battery pack after a reverse electric conversion from A.C. to D.C ("How Does"), recharging the battery pack (Grabianowski). This electricity storage will later be converted in the reverse direction from D.C. to A.C. ("How Does"). Therefore, the regenerative braking system requires that the Tesla car battery be configured for A.C. current (Hedstrom).

The regenerative braking system, as well as the simplified and efficient mechanics of the Tesla vehicle have also led to experimentation with Tesla vehicles with a single acceleration pedal. The gears connected to the motor would limit the acceleration demanded from moving the acceleration pedal on the floor, while the regenerative braking and artificial intelligence would automatically slow and recharge the car battery ("How Does"). This idea has partially stemmed from the fact that Tesla vehicles are put in neutral when electricity to teh motor is cut-off (Hedstrom).

Stability of Vehicles

Tesla cars have a lower sense of gravity due to the arrangement of the heavy parts at the bottom bed of the car ("How Does"). A "lower sense of gravity" is really decreases gravitational potential energy, and is conducive to stability in general. Tesla is currently experimenting with new designs to further lower the gravitational potential energy of its cars, providing increases stability and safety.

Future Innovation

Tesla has also been experimenting with true three-dimensional solid state batteries, true three-dimensional solid state battery architecture, and lithium-air batteries. These are new and relatively undeveloped technologies with uge potentials and implications ("Tesla Battery").

Solid state batteries are an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which many professionals in teh electricity industry believe is almost at its full potential, concerning innovation. Solid state batteries are composed of two solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte substance (the compoennet from which this technology derives its name) in between these two solid electrodes. 

Solid state battery architecture is the manipulation of flexible lithium-ion ceramic weaving fibrous textiles, and the actual design of the fibers within these textiles. Experimentation with solid state battery architecture is conducted with the primary purpose of creating designs that are affordable produced with easily-available materials.

Lithium-air batteries are another new battery technology and are compased of a lithium negative electrode, a positive electrode, which contains a catalyst, partially composed of gold, and a non-soluble electrolyte filling the space between the two electrodes. The non-soluble electrode classifies a lithium-air battery as a hybrid cell. The catalyst in the positive electrode is very small in relative mass to the catalyst mass. Lithium-air batteries are able to achieve higher energy capacity due to higher energy storage density. The innovation of lithium-air batteries is directed towards its affordable use in electric vehicles, known in shorthand as, "E.V.'s". During discharge in a lithium-air battery, the lithium metal at the anode is oxidized and the oxygen at the cathode is reduced with electrons also originating from a porous section of lithium-oxide ("Tesla Battery"). Also, oxygen molecules move out of the porous lithium-oxide sector as an inevitable result of the electron movement through this molecular process ("Tesla Battery"). Due to these chemical processes, there is a higher cell potential throughout discharge, which correlates to a higher energy potential during discharge. Currently, the only downside to lithium-air batteries is that there is some diffivuly in recharging, and current rechargeable models require a second lithium-air battery for practical use in electrical applications, such as electric vehicles. This second lithium-air battery is arranged adjacent to the lithium-air battery described above, and it has the opposite configuration while it performs the opposite reactions as well, in order for the lithium-air battery to properly fuel and power the electronic system ("Tesla Battery").

For a lithium-air battery, the lithium-oxide composed sector is approximately 2/5 of the total volume of the battery, and the lithium ion-carrying sector is approximately 2/5 of the total volume of the battery. The lithium metal sector is approximately 1/5 of the volume of the battery.

In addition, there is also current discussion of similar uses for rechargeable sodium-ion, Na-ion, higher power, rechargeable batteries. This type of battery is more developed and tested currently ("Tesla Battery"). Tesla is also tasking its scientists with developing superior battery fluid formulas, as well as new compounds and combinations of materials for the metal components of its lithium-ion batteries (Hedstrom).

Overall, some type of new and innovative battery is projected to be implemented by the Tesla Company within its vehicles by the next ten to twenty years ("Tesla Battery").