The Tesla Model Y is the eletric vehicle company's smaller crossover, a five-seater SUV intended as a taller, slightly more capacious version of a Model 3. The EVs are also known for their considerable techie bonafides as they often include gadgets such as customised iPads and even full-on gaming systems.
The latest Tesla Model S, for example, is said to be able to run triple-A games with "PS5-level performance". In a teardown it was later revealed that the car came fitted with a Zen 1+ AMD Ryzen CPU and discrete Navi 23 graphics powering the in-car gaming system. The 2021 Model X and Model S cars have hardware capable of running the likes of Twitcher 3, with the company touting these entertainment options as the Tesla Arcade, in its marketing branding. But for the Tesla Model Y, it seems the car is getting an unexpected boost in CPU performance, in the China market anyway.
Electrek (via Engadget) discovered that in China, Tesla's Model Y have AMD Ryzen processors inside, which run the entertainment system, instead of the more usual Intel CPU. The Chinese owners of the Performance variant of the EV crossover have seen the switch up so far. This is a change for Tesla since the EV company has always used the same chips for all units of a given car model.
It is unclear whether this is the same Ryzen chip as those used in the latest Model S and X. There are also no indications that this switch up is intended only for China or marks an initial step that will eventually be adopted for other markets. But the change could be down to a variety of factors.
For example, it could be related to the ongoing global computer chip shortage. Tesla could be switching to AMD chips in a bid to consolidate supply, as Engadget speculates. It may be that Tesla is favouring the AMD CPU for its models and is looking to make a broader change for all of its line up. But considering the costs of securing such chips, this may just be a limited change-up that's confined to the China market. Tesla has not provided any comment to media on the reasons for the switch.
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