Hey Elon - let's make a real virtual storage plant from totaled CTs

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
It appears to me if a CT is totaled, but the battery is not damaged you will have between 90 and 180 Kwhrs of high quality battery energy storage. Based on Powerwall pricing of roughly $650 per Kwhr that would equate to $58,500 to $117,000 worth of storage. Granted some other hardware would be required. This would be some serious virtual power plant power as opposed to a wimpy one or two Powerwall system.

Now a gutted CT battery or other model battery is not a sexy Powerwall enclosure and would take up a lot of space. The solution would be to cut in/pour a vault into a garage slab.

Steps
1.) When Tesla Insurance totals a Tesla vehicle they evaluate the condition of the battery.
2.) Develop a packaged inverter/charger control box for common battery pack types.
3.) Have a group of contractors that specialize in building the vaults, dropping the batteries into the vault and hooking up the electronics.
4.) But these bad boy batteries to work as part of your virtual power plant.
5.) Collect a wide margin and brownie points for deferring EV battery waste.

Let me know what you think.
Sponsored

 

duck

Well-known member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
73
Reaction score
182
Location
Florida
Vehicles
GMC Sierra
Country flag
So you think Tesla should design a business that relies on it's cars being destroyed in large numbers? Brilliant.
 

Crissa

Well-known member
First Name
Crissa
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
126
Messages
16,219
Reaction score
27,081
Location
Santa Cruz
Vehicles
2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
Country flag
So you think Tesla should design a business that relies on it's cars being destroyed in large numbers? Brilliant.
Well, they already have this plan.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/green-cars/a35803612/battery-recycling/

When a pack is taken apart, some of the cells are fine. Tesla cells currently can be removed from the coolant traces and intermediate and reused. They already make sure their cells are recycled.

Having a plan for where your stuff goes when it breaks is just good foresight.

-Crissa
 
OP
OP
Tinker71

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
So you think Tesla should design a business that relies on it's cars being destroyed in large numbers? Brilliant.
Tesla will be making a million cars a year by 2023. Say 1 % are totaled in the first 3 years after production ~ say 1500 potential units per year x 90 Kwhr each x $400 per Kwhr = $54,000,000 revenue or ~ $16,200,000 profit @ 30% margin. Very rough numbers, but Tesla's do get totaled for various reasons. Maybe not worth it for Tesla given perceived liability of a crashed battery but if it might be worth for someone.

BTW your snarkiness is not appreciated. This is a forum for discussion hopefully not a mechanism for Trolls.
 

duck

Well-known member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
73
Reaction score
182
Location
Florida
Vehicles
GMC Sierra
Country flag
Well, they already have this plan.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/green-cars/a35803612/battery-recycling/

When a pack is taken apart, some of the cells are fine. Tesla cells currently can be removed from the coolant traces and intermediate and reused. They already make sure their cells are recycled.

Having a plan for where your stuff goes when it breaks is just good foresight.

-Crissa
Good article. Although it focuses on Volkswagen and Redwood mostly. Nothing really about Tesla encasing second hand batteries in concrete under peoples houses.
 


Crissa

Well-known member
First Name
Crissa
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
126
Messages
16,219
Reaction score
27,081
Location
Santa Cruz
Vehicles
2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
Country flag
Good article. Although it focuses on Volkswagen and Redwood mostly. Nothing really about Tesla encasing second hand batteries in concrete under peoples houses.
Yes, Elon hasn't talked about it lately, but Redwood recycles cells for Tesla in Nevada. They have a close relationship.

-Crissa
 

Challeco

Well-known member
First Name
Christopher
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
297
Reaction score
562
Location
Oregon
Vehicles
23ModelY,71F250,14Fusion,66Galaxie
Occupation
Medical Technologist
Country flag
Tesla will be making a million cars a year by 2023. Say 1 % are totaled in the first 3 years after production ~ say 1500 potential units per year x 90 Kwhr each x $400 per Kwhr = $54,000,000 revenue or ~ $16,200,000 profit @ 30% margin. Very rough numbers, but Tesla's do get totaled for various reasons. Maybe not worth it for Tesla given perceived liability of a crashed battery but if it might be worth for someone.

BTW your snarkiness is not appreciated. This is a forum for discussion hopefully not a mechanism for Trolls.
Crissa did respond appropriately. Tesla does recycle their products, which is a far sight better than anyone else. As for your vault design, I am not sure the concrete is necessary though. The foot print for the battery will be around 50 square feet given the wheel base and width and probably less than a foot thick. I personally would love to have a platform to convert my classic car and add in the B2G option. That way it is usable in many ways.
 
OP
OP
Tinker71

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
I am talking about the whole battery pack not harvesting cells. In the CT case. 5 feet by 9? Feet. That would take up too much wall space for most people. Repurposing is better than recycling in most cases. A 3 year old battery would have decent service life as a home battery for 12 more years.
 

VolklKatana

Well-known member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Dec 17, 2019
Threads
47
Messages
442
Reaction score
882
Location
Madison, WI
Website
ts.la
Vehicles
2019 Tesla M3 LR AWD FSD, CT3 reserved
Occupation
Data Architect
Country flag
The main cost of these vehicles IS the battery. I have a hard time imagining damage to a Cybertruck that is bad enough to consider it totaled, yet laves the pack in tact. (Rolling the vehicle may be one consideration I guess?). The steel on the outside is much tougher than the packs contained within
 
OP
OP
Tinker71

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
4.) But these bad boy batteries to work as part of your virtual power plant.
5.) Collect a wide margin and brownie points for deferring EV battery waste.


The biggest money maker for Tesla might be the virtual power plant. Charge these big car batteries at $.12 and sell during peak for $.24. 300 days per year for 12 years. Tesla gets another margin for handling the transaction.
 


Daniels777

New member
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Apr 7, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Mountain View CA
Vehicles
Tesla X 90D
Occupation
Design
Country flag
Below is an interesting calculation.

between 90 and 180 Kwhrs of high-quality battery energy storage. Based on Powerwall pricing of roughly $650 per Kwhr, that would equate to $58,500 to $117,000 worth of storage.
If these figures are right - approximately how many Powerwalls is a Dual Motor Cybetruck going present to plug into a home with a Powerwall+ installed?

It looks like the new Powerwall+ specs show a single Powerwall as having 13.5 Kwhrs. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-powerwall-plus-specifications/

If this is correct, I guesstimate that a Cybertruck AWD Dual Motor might have the equivalent of 10 Powerwalls batteries - except on wheels.

What do you calculate here?

Daniel
 
OP
OP
Tinker71

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
Below is an interesting calculation.



If these figures are right - approximately how many Powerwalls is a Dual Motor Cybetruck going present to plug into a home with a Powerwall+ installed?

It looks like the new Powerwall+ specs show a single Powerwall as having 13.5 Kwhrs. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-powerwall-plus-specifications/

If this is correct, I guesstimate that a Cybertruck AWD Dual Motor might have the equivalent of 10 Powerwalls batteries - except on wheels.

What do you calculate here?

Daniel
Yes, that is the average unless a stationary battery is de-rated somehow.

The CT probably runs at 600VDC or more. I am not sure exactly what hardware would be required or how much loss in conversion, but the CT is already schedule to have a 240VAC plug, so it could not be that difficult.

As a note, wrecked M3 batteries appear on Ebay all the time. They are too big for most EV conversions so they sell for allot less that used Model S batteries. $158 vs $226 per Kwhr.
 

Crissa

Well-known member
First Name
Crissa
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
126
Messages
16,219
Reaction score
27,081
Location
Santa Cruz
Vehicles
2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
Country flag
The main cost of these vehicles IS the battery. I have a hard time imagining damage to a Cybertruck that is bad enough to consider it totaled, yet laves the pack in tact. (Rolling the vehicle may be one consideration I guess?). The steel on the outside is much tougher than the packs contained within
Yes. Any damage to the frame or battery pack. You could also damage enough of the wheels or sensors - like a spin that strips all those off - that creates more repairs than the car costs. Lotsa sensors to replace.

-Crissa
 
OP
OP
Tinker71

Tinker71

Well-known member
First Name
Ray
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Threads
82
Messages
1,484
Reaction score
1,967
Location
Utah
Vehicles
1976 electric conversion bus
Occupation
Project Manager
Country flag
Yes. Any damage to the frame or battery pack. You could also damage enough of the wheels or sensors - like a spin that strips all those off - that creates more repairs than the car costs. Lotsa sensors to replace.

-Crissa
Yes, I think if you rolled it at speed it would definitely be totaled. Any accident where both the front and rear casting are damaged. Skidding on the roof breaking most of the glass and bending the top frame?? Lesser accidents 3-4 years after the vehicle has depreciated some. If the insurance company could get a lot of money for the battery it will make it easier to total a vehicle as well. There might be a lot scenarios where a vehicle is totaled yet the battery pack is functional and safe.
 

Crissa

Well-known member
First Name
Crissa
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
126
Messages
16,219
Reaction score
27,081
Location
Santa Cruz
Vehicles
2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
Country flag
Tesla vehicles basically don't roll over, but things have landed atop them.

That's also basically a totaled car, as any damage to the roll cage is unrepairable. But that's true of most cars.

-Crissa
Sponsored

 
 




Top