When a Tesla is in an accident, it has a battery pack that's built to survive that crash as well as it possibly can. Those battery packs are then sent off to a recycler. They can be scrapped and used to create the components needed for new batteries, or they can be sold. That's what we have in the video above.
The folks at EV West have taken delivery of a fresh battery pack from a Tesla Model S. Their plan is to tear it all down, remove the separate battery modules, and then install those modules in a number of their own vehicles for waiting customers.
What does it take to break this whole thing apart? The removal of a whole lot of screws, and then a bunch of prying and pulling it seems.
Tesla uses a whole lot of screws and bolts to keep the battery cover in place. Then there's a layer of glue to hold it together as well. You can't go too crazy with the prying tools, because the battery cells are lined up all the way out to the edges of the battery tray. Once you've pulled the cover back far enough, however, you can peel it all the way back with some handy force.
Once you're into the battery, you'll need to drain the cooling fluid and pull off some fuses. After that it's some more bolts and you can start pulling off the battery modules, with each one containing 444 battery cells. Each module weighs over 57 pounds, and if you want one for a project of your own you can talk to EV West about it. They'll sell you one for just under $1,400.
From there, you could use one or more to power a project vehicle, or even hook them together and pair them with solar panels to power your house.
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