Ukrainians strip out Tesla batteries to keep the lights on

10 comments

1. TLDR from the article: there’s a business buying crashed Teslas on insurance auctions in the US and importing them to Ukraine to strip out the batteries helping with frequent power cuts.

   [https://x.com/janrosenow/status/1816742411164434892](https://x.com/janrosenow/status/1816742411164434892)

   goes to show that giving EV batteries a second life is much easier than people think

2. Paywall

   “In a tiny garage on the outskirts of Kyiv, a group of mechanics pored over the carcass of a wrecked old Tesla, stripping it of parts. But instead of trying to repair the car, the men were busy extracting its battery, hoping to use it to power local businesses and homes.Their work — which can turn a single discarded Tesla into a dozen home battery systems — is one of myriad ways in which Ukrainian businesses are responding to the regular blackouts the country has faced since Russia launched a [string of attacks](https://archive.is/o/MBhLp/https://www.ft.com/war-in-ukraine) on its energy grid earlier this year.

   Russia has now knocked out or captured more than half of Ukraine’s domestic electricity generating capacity, forcing energy companies to impose rolling nationwide blackouts that have left homes and businesses without electricity for up to 20 hours a day.Businesses have been forced to adapt. Across Kyiv, diesel generators parked outside shops and cafés rumble into action as soon as power goes down, and many households in the capital plug their appliances into rechargeable battery systems at home.

   Oleksandr Bentsa, 30, realised he had a potential solution to hand. For years, the businessman had been buying crashed Teslas on insurance auctions in the US and importing them to Ukraine, where his mechanics would restore and resell the cars.When the most severe blackouts began this spring, he realised there was a new use for his trade. Bentsa found electricians capable of doing the dangerous job of carving salvaged Tesla batteries into multiple rechargeable systems.”

   (could post more of the article, but don’t know the mod’s policies on paywalled content)

3. The main problem is that most people in Ukraine live in apartment buildings with limited living space, and there aren’t many options for generating electricity. However, small-sized batteries can provide enough power to keep an apartment supplied with electricity for a considerable amount of time during outages. The downside of this idea is the significant risk of battery fires, which poses a danger to both the homeowners and their neighbors.

4. Finally teslas are useful 

5. Old news. There are plenty of ads, peoole selling ev cars batteries, to people who wants to be off grid. all around the world.

6. Waiting for Musk to try and do an update to brick them…..want to keep daddy Putin happy. 

7. Can’t help but think Ukraine is going to be a power house in these technologies, UAVs etc

8. I think that when the war is over, we as Europeans will have a lot to learn from Ukrainians. I hope that the EU will be more attentive to them.

9. Wartime always has been a significant accelerator for technical improvement and development, out of dire need. Imaginable that Ukraine has developed methods & technologies that might be beneficial as an industry post war

10. Sensational like always. Few facts:

    Is it dangerous for anyone qualified (to work on electronics) to salvage this batteries? Nah. Also Tesla’s are really good at protecting batteries and passengers (check their ratings in crash tests).

    Innovative? Only sorta. These packs were repurposed for swaps for years. Also people were building energy storage systems from cells recovered from for example used laptops.

    Are these packs dangerous (like burn your house down)? As much as your chinese powerbank. Lithium batteries when used with proper care are safe.

    Are these Teslas banned by Mr Musk? Yes, because they are salvage title cars and Tesla refuses to work on them and are prohibited from accessing supercharging network. They are considered scrap. Why Tesla then? Because Teslas due to this policy are the cheapest EVs to buy crashed.