Tesla is reportedly in talks to use Michelin's airless tires
Tesla is reportedly in talks to use Michelin's airless tires
Tesla is reportedly in talks with tire giant Michelin to use their latest airless tire technology in the former’s electric...
cross-posted from: https://lazysoci.al/post/15030023
This story has been floating around for a couple years. Maybe there's some truth in it?
On all pictures that I find, these airless tires have open sides. Wouldn't that accumulate huge amounts of snow, dirt etc. over time? And if a small rock gets trapped between the rubber, that's probably also not ideal for the longevity of the tire?
My guess is that when they go into production, they'll probably have sidewalls. I think the pre-prod ones are too show the technology inside.
These tires have been around for 20 years and still haven't been widely adopted.
To be fair, the concept has been around a long time, however working prototypes are fairly new. Michelin and GoodYear have had their interactions being road tested for the past couple years, modifying the design as per the results of testing. Some changes have included the spokes design and all the rubber composite ratio. Just to be clear, the amount of tires in landfills around the world isn't small, so these being a success is huge for the planet.
Did they get the road noise issue sorted?
Can an airless tire ever be as cushioning as an airfull tire? Instead of compressing the entire volume of air, aren't you essentially just compressing a small "spring" directly between the rim and the road?
This is why it took so long to get it right. Just like the airless basketball.