Tesla electric vehicle provides hands-on training at State Tech

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 2/19/20

To stay on the cutting edge of the hybrid and electric vehicle industry, State Technical College has for years offered programs suited to this pursuit within its automotive curriculum, but this …

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Tesla electric vehicle provides hands-on training at State Tech

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To stay on the cutting edge of the hybrid and electric vehicle industry, State Technical College has for years offered programs suited to this pursuit within its automotive curriculum, but this semester, for the first time, the Linn campus has a Tesla 70 Model S, and it’s not going anywhere any time soon.

“It will be here for at least the next six years, until I retire,” Instructor Kevin Rice quipped. “Unless the college finds a way to get us something even better. It took six years to pull this together but it was worth it.”

Rice explained that other programs within Automotive Technology (AMT) needed funds, and care was taken not to strip those courses of resources.

“We have worked with other electric and hybrid vehicles,” said Rice, noting that last semester, students worked with a Chevy Volt, loaned to the college by Riley Auto Group in Jefferson City.

AMT students also have worked on the Ford Escape Titanium and Toyota Prius, but the Tesla is in a class by itself.

“We needed tomorrow’s technology today,” said Rice.

Some vehicles are donated to the school, but the Tesla 70 is owned by State Tech.

“The self-drive option is a feature they really like,” said Rice. “We’ll take the car out to Hwy. 50 and use the long, straight stretches to let the car do its thing.”

Rice explained the highway is well-marked, and really the best option, since the State Tech airport is not an option. “The FAA frowns on that,” said Rice.

Second-year student Salvador Williams, a St. Genevieve native, said the Tesla’s self-driving option is amazing. “The Tesla will round corners, maintain speed, and it’s consistent,” he said. “Other vehicles use adaptive driving, which will keep its distance and things like that, but it’s not the same. The Tesla is consistent.”

Fellow second-year student Spencer Davis, from New Florence, agrees, adding that the Tesla’s 21-inch console screen allows the driver to see everything once a route is programmed. “It notifies you of the miles you can go before your next charge, where the next charging station is, and it plots your route based on how far you can go,” he said.

The first time the students get in the car and experience self-driving, Rice said, “They’re a little freaked out, but it’s really a safe feature.”

Sensors in the car monitor the driver to ensure he or she is awake while the autopilot is engaged, and drivers must touch the wheel.

Safety is the most important aspect for students in the electric/hybrid vehicle program, which is open to just 12 students per semester, making the study of the Tesla a very exclusive learning experience, including dismantling the engine and battery pack and putting them back together.

“There’s too much risk involved to have many more students involved,” said Rice, noting only students in the 16-week hybrid class work on the Tesla.

No conductivity is permitted, since everything is electrical, meaning classroom desks are all wood, and students have special equipment, including triple-insulated tools and gloves purchased through Three Rivers Electric Cooperative.

“Students follow safety precautions very well,” Rice noted.

Each battery pack used by Tesla is actually a collection of 3.7-volt lithium-ion commodity-cell batteries not much bigger than a standard AA-sized battery. According to Tesla, these features are redundant because of the advanced thermal management system and an intumescent chemical in the battery to prevent fires.

The difference is in how many batteries are used.

In the Tesla 70 Model S used by the college, there are almost 5,000 batteries, each cooled individually, which provides longer use and limits overheating.

Battery packs on the Tesla have an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, and while charging stations are free, battery packs can be changed for a fee.

Tesla founder Elon Musk offers a choice: “Fast or Free,” and a video shown to State Tech students provides a look at the process.

“It’s really amazing,” said Rice. “The battery pack can be changed out in less time than it takes to fill up a tank of gas.”

In the video, it took about 90 seconds to change out the battery pack, and in the specific example, two battery packs were changed in the time it took to gas up a vehicle.

Until now, videos were the only option for showcasing Tesla options, and both Williams and Davis much prefer the hands-on aspect.

“I am a visual learner,” said Williams. “I just don’t retain as much from reading a book or watching a video.”

As for Davis, it’s a matter of perspective. “If you’re watching a video, you’re seeing another technician do the work,” he said. “It’s not as effective as actually doing the work yourself.”

Both have engaged in projects to take engines apart and put them back together to fully understand how the systems work.

“It’s a night-and-day difference between lectures and videos, and actually seeing everything up close,” said Rice. “We used to watch a video called, ‘How it’s Made,’ and now we can show how things work in real time.”

Talk about the Tesla generated a lot of interest. “It’s very exciting to be able to use it,” Williams said.

All of the Tesla’s features are managed by an app on Rice’s phone, including valet and speed-limit modes.

“You can train the Tesla to drive itself to where you are, and it will drive itself to you with the touch of a button,” said Rice. “There are a lot of really neat features with this car.”

While both may go into the electric/hybrid vehicle field upon graduation, Williams and Davis will have a lot of options with this training.

“There are not as many Tesla locations as other manufacturers, but this course prepares students to work with other vehicles like Chevy and Toyota,” said Rice.

Another element of the course pertains to lot of other career paths.

Tesla’s oldest currently-produced design is a three-phase four-pole AC induction motor with a copper rotor, and Rice said three-phase electric motors are used in many industrial settings.

“Everything done in the hybrid class can be applied to anything electric or mechanical,” said Rice. “Job placement is so much easier with this training.”

The Tesla is a big investment, but the college purchased the vehicle using a Vocational-Technical Education Enhancement Grant (EG) Award Program through Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

State Tech VP of Finance Jenny Jacobs explained the goal of the grant is to expand and enhance the quality of Missouri’s occupational preparatory career education programs through improved alignment with business and industry occupational training needs, and increased emphasis on training in high-demand occupations that have been determined to be in critical shortage.

The Automotive Technology program (AMT) meets the criteria and is able to purchase equipment for instruction through the grant. AMT matches 25% of the cost of the purchase, and the grant provides the remaining 75%.  The AMT program generates match money in several different ways.  Sales and service revenue is generated through student projects that provide instructional value and hands-on experience, surplus equipment is sold on Govdeals.com, and donors provide dollars that are restricted for use in the program. The AMT program started hunting for a Tesla, and after obtaining quotes on three different comparable used models, the car was purchased for $44,900. The grant paid $33,675, and the program covered 25% of the cost in the amount of $11,225.

DESE approved the vehicle to be licensed for street use due to the instructional benefit of learning while using the car on the road.  Driving the car off campus allows students to get a true hands-on experience with the many functions available on the electric car.

For more information about programs, visit www.statetechmo.edu.