I’m curious about the breakdown of how that weight could be divided among the atoms that make up the car. There would be silicon and oxygen for the glass (with additional atoms of carbon and hydrogen for safety), iron for the steel, etc. Some vehicles are now aluminum-bodied. So how many pounds of iron? Of oxygen?
I don’t particularly care which car, and no need for any extensive effort for a comprehensive list. But I would be curious about the most common atoms that make up the largest percentage of the weight before we get to the misc extras.
According to this dated link about 55% of a car’s weight is iron, 8% is aluminum. The other big metals would be copper and lead. As battery technology changes the numbers will change dramatically.
I found this quote: “On average an automobile is 47% steel, 8% iron, 8% plastic, 7% aluminum, and 3% glass.”
The iron will have 2% carbon and 1% Si. The steel will be 99% Fe, and carbon and Mn. 6061 aluminum is about 97% Al, 1% Mg, ,8% Si, .7% Fe, .25% Cr and Cu, .2% Zi, Ti and Mn. Windshield glass is 70% silica sand (SiO2), soda ash (Na2 CO3), dolomite ((CaMg)(CO3)2) and limestone (CaCO3).
Most plastics will also contain a non-negligible amount of oxygen, and possibly other elements. Polycarbonate, for instance, has an empirical formula of C16H18O5 , and PVC is C2H3Cl .
Here’s a somewhat dated (4 years ago) page on the composition of different Li-ion batteries:
That page says the Model S has an NCA – Nickel-Colbalt-Aluminum battery. I don’t know if they still use that kind of battery in the Model S. The US-made Model 3’s have an NMC – Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt battery while the Model 3’s made in China have an LFP – Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, which that page doesn’t even mention.
That page is mostly about the cathode. Li-ion batteries usually have a graphite anode which also may contain silicon.