Risks and Rewards: Tesla in Malaysia
Caveat: The writer is not well versed in the subject of electrical and electronic, nor has he experience in working in the automotive industry. He just now how to use a keyboard, hence wrote this post.
Tesla has been making waves in Malaysia recently. I wonder whether using Tesla (or other Electric Vehicles (EV)) at a rather early stage, is a wise decision or not. So I decided to do a thought exercise: Things to consider when you’re buying and using an electric car in Malaysia.
Other than the lack of charging ports, here are things that might present a risk with using Tesla and the likes, in Malaysia.
1. The heat – might affect charging; either the charging is inefficient due to the power module needing to limit the current to lower temperature, or the battery ‘holds’ lower charge that it needs charging more often.
2. The humidity – condensation, either inside the car or in the sub-systems compartment. Oxidation (rust) of the connectors? Not unique to an electric car but charging/discharging might exacerbate the oxidation. I don’t foresee this risk happening within the early years though.
3. Water ingress – Malaysia has high amount of rain. Add to that road drainage blockage, cars are subjected to a lot of water trying to get into the car. Internal combustion engine can still work when dipped in water (not sure for how long or how deep) but a splash of water will damage EV’s circuit. Again, ‘normal’ cars have ECU too, but EV will have more critical components being at risk.
4. Vermin and animal-proofing – rodents love cables. And since EV is full of them, I see this a risk, albeit a small one. Even stretching it a bit, animals like lizards (cicak) might cause a problem, where they creep inside and cause short circuits.
Truthfully I don’t believe that these risks might cause huge failures or a lot of the cars to fail, but the risks are still there. Engineers would have all considered these factors. Only thing is, the requirements the EV are designed too or the environmental conditions they are tested in, are not the same as in Malaysia. Even if the tests are specced to it, the tests are not the ‘real’ thing. After all, in theory there is no difference between practice and theory. In theory, there is.
Am I saying you shouldn’t buy an EV in Malaysia? Nope, go ahead. I see the value in it, although I might not hold the same view of the values, as someone who has booked for it (not that I can afford it 🤣). My point is, there are risks and rewards, and if you believe the risks are worth it, then go ahead.
Much like if you view the rewards outweigh the headaches of managing two households, then go ahead 😉.
Thank you for reading.
N.B 26/08/2023 – I’ve just realised that I have used the term risk incorrectly. The standard IEC 61508 Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems defines risks a bit differently. I guess hazards are more appropriate for the points raised above, but it doesn’t quite rhyme right, Hazards and Rewards. So apologies on that
