Tesla loses the man who produced some of the ‘best techniques’ Elon Musk has seen

Tesla has lost engineering director Joseph Mardall, who helped produce “some of the best techniques” Elon Musk has seen in a long time.

Tesla Model Y heat pump

With the Model Y last year, Tesla introduced several new design improvements, and its new heat pump is one of the main ones.

A heat pump is a device that transfers thermal energy from a heat source to what is called a thermal reservoir.

It’s a device that wasn’t in the Model 3 at the time, and it can make vehicles much more efficient in colder climates, which can affect the range of all vehicles – although the more emphasis should be placed on the EV range.

After Tesla introduced the same heat pump in the Model 3, owners were able to compare the efficiency of air conditioning with and without Tesla’s new heat pump, showing that the latter is much more efficient.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the design of the heat pump on Twitter and praised the team that designed it:

The Model Y heat pump is one of the best technologies I have seen in quite some time. The team did a higher level job.

Musk elaborated on the design of the Model Y heat pump:

Printed circuit board design techniques applied to create a physically impossible heat exchanger by normal means. The heat pump also has a local heating loop to speed up and extend the usable temperature range. Octavalve is also quite special. The team did a great job. No credit for me.

Now Tesla has lost the leader of this team who provided “some of the best techniques” he has seen.

Engineering Director Tesla Joseph Mardall

Mardall is a Cambridge and MIT-trained mechanical engineer who cut his teeth as an aerodynamicist at McLaren Racing before joining Tesla.

He has spent the past 10 years at Tesla where he has contributed to a long list of really important projects at the automaker, including the Model Y heat pump, according to the patents and his LinkedIn profile:

• (2018-2021) Led 3 teams of over 60 engineers in charge of HVAC and thermal, vehicle integration and vehicle structural analysis (from 2019) for the development of Y, Semi and Roadster.
• Highlights included the revolutionary Model Y heat pump system and Tesla’s efforts to develop a fan.
• (2014-2018) Led 25 engineers to develop thermal / HVAC systems for Model X and Model 3, including simulation, material design, supplier selection, testing, reliability and production ramp .
• Highlights included the Model 3 and SuperBottle air vent, and the Model X HEPA filter
• (2014) Led a team of 5 people for the layout, design, simulation, procurement and validation of the Model X Powertrain thermal system.
• (2011-2014) Selected by Elon Musk to lead the development of the Tesla Hyperloop concept resulting in a Hyperloop-Alpha white paper. Aerodynamic development, route planning, structural tube and pylon design, budgeting, human factors, maglev research.
• Directed aerodynamic development for the Model S thermal system including all HVAC ducts, heat exchanger ducts and canopies including surfacing, CFD simulations and vehicle testing.
• Development of an industry leading battery thermal leakage simulation tool and design development to optimize Tesla Energy vehicle and battery designs, resulting in 3 patents.

The engineer has now announced that he is leaving Tesla to join Zipline, a drone development start-up for the delivery of medical products.

Mardall announced on LInkedIn:

After 10 wonderful years at Tesla, I am excited to begin my next chapter as Chief Engineering Officer at Zipline, working with a talented and committed team of engineers to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies. The next 5 years will change everything and I can’t wait! We are hiring for all engineering positions and I would love to hear from you – come fly with me!

With a decade at Tesla, Mardall was among the automaker’s top executives.

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