A First-Ever Tesla Teardown! Model X Battery Pack Overview 

Hello there, the early Model S vehicles were equipped with a battery pack 1.0 featuring a so-called "sand fuse" with an access panel on top. This type of fuse was also installed in later batteries, known as 2.0, which had fuse access from below. The Model X and newer Model S vehicles came with a hybrid battery-powered fuse. These are programmed into the Battery Management System (BMS) and need to be replaced approximately after 5 years. The actual voltage level of the fuse batteries is not measured at all. When the BMS indicates that the fuse needs servicing and if you have a battery warranty, it can be replaced free of charge with the latest type. The latest type is called "hybrid self-powered"; the power for the current measurement circuit and the pyro element comes from a small voltage drop across the fuse. This voltage is then boosted and stored in a small supercapacitor. These fuses never need replacing. I understand that you are the experts, but it is concerning to see you getting so close and leaning next to the exposed terminals of the high-voltage batteries. This presents a false image to the audience that the HV batteries are safe. Please at least wear high-voltage gloves and goggles for safety! Safety should always be the top priority, and demonstrating it helps set the right example for viewers.

I remember going by the pack swap station prototype at Harris Ranch on I-5. Looked like a bay from a Oil Changers. Drive in and swap the pack in 3-5 minutes. Putting the Superchargers near it make a great juxtaposition showing how Tesla's thinking evolved.

A well presented and informative presentation, Julian. You are a credit to the Munro team. However, the frequency of the uhs and ahs quickly became annoying. Something to work on for your future videos (of which hopefully there will be many). Kudos, by the way, for only one "You know" at the very end.

You said a lot of "uh" 😂

What a great presentation! Once you tone down the filler word "Ah" from your videos, your presentation skills will be out of this world. This was extremely informative and your ability to explain things is outstanding.

It's great to get a look inside and an informed explanation of this tech. You combine facts into knowledge. Thanks team.

Enjoyed the video! But it reminds me that I really miss watching a complete teardown series from you. Hopefully your Cybertruck arrives soon.

I’d appreciate in future videos if you would show side-by-side comparisons to how a pack was to how it is now so as to see the evolution. Just speaking to it does not help with those of us that are very visual in our learning and understanding. I myself had a Tesla Model S P100DL, the predecessor to the Plaid. I think it was the first pack to have a front to back ribbon manifold as opposed to the old serpentine method.

At 82000 miles my 2016 model X just needed a replacement of the pyrotechnic fuse because batteries low. That early a model required dropping the battery. They later did a cut out so it could be done from below.

Very informative. Good job, Julian!

🙋‍♂️🤗THANKS JULIAN GRACE AND THE MUNRO TEAM 🧐😎💚💚💚

Amazing engineering and manufacturing processes discussed in detail.

Always enjoy this channel and Julian knows his business. With that said the uuums and aaahs were killing me and I couldn't finish the video.

Thanks, really enjoyed the content, much appreciated

wow! awesome stuff! glad 2 see that ya'll are applying that brain juice N elbow grease to all this engineering! good luck Team Munro!

I'm no engineer, let alone an automotive designer or battery expert, but this pack strikes me as much more useful, practical, repairable, and recyclable than the foam saturated 4680 skateboard that you've torn apart in previous episodes.

Morning munro crew! Think it's important to state the model year of the model x, this looks like a pre plaid version with the extrusions and small models. Plastic wrap is... Interesting No inner fasteners. Very happy to see that. Curious to see how it's bussed. Laser weld? Vertical connections for swapping, yup, 2018 or earlier. Kinda jealous it was so easy to remove 😭. Want to see the Porsche. 🥺 Like the hv module assembly, simple, compact. Pyro... Hey, those look like fasteners...*judging*. Internal battery!? Interesting!! Would love to CT that ... The yellow wicking adhesive was a newer upgrade, 2021 and later, likely using the gray thermal or an older thermal paste option. SP? Great job Julian!

Is the contactor/high voltage unit new? that wasn't present on old battery packs (?). Its a cool unit.

"Uh" Thank you for the awesome video. It's okay to have dead audio. may be good to practice avoiding filler words like uh um ah etc.

Not sure if have ever heard so many "uuhhhhh"s in my life. Uhhhh.... uhhhhh uhhhhhhh uuuhhhhhhh aahhhhhhh uuhhhhhhh....

Can we give a shout out to the marketing team at BendPak? Super smart to give Munro a pack, even just for the hopes that they'll mention it. They did mention it, and I would assume that mention will lead to some sales

"What we will be talking about in a few weeks here" = Cybertruck?

ii have been using 2 model S battery modules to charge Emotorcycle / power appliances and in my RV for 4 years of daily use

Very good, thank you.

thanks 4 video!

Great stuff! Thanks everyone

I wonder what newer model x battery packs look like. 2020 would be before the re-design if I am not mistaken.

Can't wait to see the model 2 battery pack, it will be very interesting to see cost reduction with model 2.

What I want to know is what happens to the battery modules that are not torn apart? Is Munro using them for energy storage or does the customer takes them?

Really enjoyed his presentation. He does a good job communicating.

Good one

I would be curious as to what if any degredation there is on an under rated pack? Say a 75KW/hr pack that is really 100kw/hr just limited by software. One would assume that there would be zero range degradation until the pack was just about kaput?

What's wrong with aluminum extrusions? I always hear them mentioned as bad in Munro videos but I don't get why. Isn't it faster and more consistent?

19:31 What has caused the staining on the battery pack? Has the water sealing failed?

here for it. Thanks.

15:05 It’s a common misconception that the fuse is mid pack and removing it halves the pack voltage. Removing the fuse splits the pack to 14s and 2s.

Nice watch!

For pyro fuse battery, isnt it possible it pulls power from other battery like a 12v gets power from an alternator

Thanks!

Question? What about rust or water getting inside of the battery packs? Another question what about adding another charger port? Instead of swapping battery packs or increasing supercharging?

excellent

Generally I like Tesla's 18650 packs' robust thermal management, but the smaller cooling channel w/o thermal paste (is that right??) is very disappointing. My biggest concern with the 4680s is the longer heat path through the cell almost certainly causing uneven cooling. Tesla definitely gets a "plus one" for serviceability on this pack though. Since Model X is relatively low volume and the tooling is long ago amortized it hardly makes sense for them to shift to casting the battery housing structure until there is a major upgrade to the vehicle, which is long overdue.

LFP modules would be fun to see a tear down on and compare.

It’s awesome seeing new (to us) employees. It’s going to be interesting to watch their public speaking skills improve over time

what is with the browning color ontop of the battery? is that corrosion or heat wear?

Nice

Does anyone know if the battery pack can be shunt modded so the current can bypass the controller and go straight to the battery for a hot-rodder who wants full battery power for a few seconds?

Thanks for the overview of these packs. I'm currently installing 6 Tesla Model S modules into my Porsche 914 electric conversion. Wish me luck!

Dude is JACKED! 💪

Thanks for the video & your expertise. Ditto for your 'uh' which was very distracting. It takes effort to reduce that tendency, but your videos will really benefit from working on it.

The sheet on top of the battety cover, under the plastic sheet, is a fire blanket. 7:00

And aaah, and then aaaaah, when opened aaaahh, the model x aaaaaahhhh, the high voltage aaaahhh

Interesting stuff! Anyone recognise the black car in the background? Looks nice!

Just a question with corrosion...If you live in a high moisture snowy city where you are prone to water, snow, salt kicking up off the ground and onto the under side of your car...how does tesla protect the battery and all the underside from this?

Have you done a hairpin motor teardown? I'm so curious about the magnets Tesla is using, they said they would not be rare earths, what are they made from?!

The cutout fuse having it's own battery is obviously great. It works like a modern alarm system. When the mothership stops responding or the airbags go out it is time to blow. If the whole thing is in short, there would be no voltage to cutout. So while i'm being captain obvious here. I would be quite shocked if others didn't do it like this.

Those moobs 😂 😂😂

Great video. So who is your “client” who had you tear down all those Tesla batteries. Someone who wanted to learn how to make their own cylindrical packs, like BMW maybe!

Cheers.

Is the black sport car in the back a Taycan?

Uhhhh x 1,500... couldn't finish

Great video. Tesla packs often have a letter designating the design iteration. I believe the current generation is "J". What version is this pack?

It just seems like it would be more efficient to use fewer large custom cells rather then like 10,000 off the shelf flashlight batteries.

It's just not Munro without Munro.

I have an earlier (#4500) cybertruck preorder. At this point don’t think I will be buying it, at least not for a few years. Would you guys be interested?

Great content and presentation however be mindful of saying ‘uh’s and ‘um’s so often

Consider using a screen prompter; there's an app available for download that can assist with this. Another approach is employing a voice-over explanation-film the relevant areas or use a computer-generated model to synchronize with your voice. While you have the right appearance, addressing nervousness in your delivery is key. Sounding unsure can lead to viewer disinterest and confusion about your message. Confidence in your presentation will likely help maintain audience engagement.

Is this for x or x plaid? HW3 or 4?

Love the technical focus and competence - for improvement, though: as the guy below writes: skip the "Ah´s" - however, not significant compared to the tech yield. KInd Regards, Tom from Denmark

Whats the size of the largest BP (battery pack) you have removed?

You meant that Model S versus Audi refueling event!!! I also knew that Tesla designed their own fuse because they wrote it on their own blog early day near 2006…🤔🤔🤔

It looks like thousands and thousands of laptop batteries connected in series and parallel to me. It will be interesting to see how this compares to the upcoming Cybertruck 4680 battery packs. It should be a much simpler pack with way fewer battery cells. We will all laugh at these super heavy and antiquated battery packs 6-8 years from now. The improvements and lower costs that are coming will be absolutely amazing. We can finally drive the last nail in the ICE coffin.

Hey Julian, your presentation was packed with great inter-generational info about Tesla batteries. Thanks for your expertise. Quick tip: try pausing for a sec instead of saying 'uh' or 'um.' I look forward to your next video.

Tesla: A $75k+ cell phone -dispossible.

Sorry but had to count them.. 263 "uh" it's a hard habit to break but you will love the way you sound. Cuz I care :)

Bravo.......ok u punchate with " A. "...........to many a's............battery stuff great........cheers

I can understand the total lack of analysis on safety and catastrophic failure based on what companies are likely paying for this teardown. I've never seen a serious teardown where the technical expert failed to mention issues that made them uncomfortable let alone were considered oversights or engineer failures. I would expect phrases like, "we wondered why they chose the xyz material for this design solution" or "we were puzzled why they didn't consider what would happen if so and so occurred after N hours". This presentation seems more like a technical advertisement rather than a well thought out teardown.

I missed it? Did you say the pack weight?

It seems the later ones are made on purpose not to be serviceable. The later modern pack is equivalent to welding, gluing a petrol engine together so when something needs repair you need a whole new engine totalling the vehicle. That is the equivalent way latest battery packs have gone. Unexceptible needs skilled serviceability for evs to be viable.

Uber pays $1 a ride if you use an EV. He’s doing 300 miles a day. Assume each ride averages 10 miles means he’s doing 30 rides a day. Using an EV has earned him an additional $30/day. If he is doing 6 days a week of this and assuming at least a week or two of vacation, that’s maybe 300 days a year? 300*300=90000 miles, and says he does 100k miles so my estimate is conservative- but back to point: 300 days times that $30/day is $9000 dollars and pays for that replacement battery.

I like this design that fact you could swap out dead packs and them being smaller should keep the cost down

Can you imagine the income Tesla can generate from battery range increase through software updates? I would pay $2000 to extend my range 25%. Over millions of EV's big money for something that is built in. Tesla is very smart

👍👍👍👍

Are these batteries 1865 or 2170?

Tesla needs to offer interest free financing on all teslas and battery replacement for life. ( help customer EV anxiety on depresseation, affordability upgrades, and recycling to keep total cost down.)

Great content, BUT the ahs and ums were distracting. Also, the use of a 3' or so pointer would have helped a lot for the packs on the floor, rather than hand waving.

❤❤

Don’t think the pyro fuse has it’s own battery. Must be the initiator and piston that destroys the connection.

Pls allow a "Sandy Summary" with appropriate salty language. Gotta let these young engineers let loose a little.

Small criticism. When speaking just pause don't say "uhh" repeated or "ahh".. Great content as always.

No pink foam ??

pack swapping has the ability to upgrade the car to newest battery tech . its the way to go for now..and maybe going forward AHH so lets get to it to stop the disposable bic car concept ,in this way the ford/chevy/fiat folks will have to step up to the plate if they wanna eat!!

Looks like a 911 Taycan/*INSERT NAME HERE* in the back...

I sure wish a company would split the packs up in the future (maybe into thirds), so you could buy the less range but less weight version, while always retaining the ability to add other modules in later.

Ahmm, ahmm, ahmmm

For perspective my ebike has 40x 18650 battery's 😅

Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhh

This is said with the best of intentions, You use a lot the “Aaah” to connect thoughts or phrases. Likely given you are aiming to do it on one take. I mention it, given its easy to practice to avoid and iam sure you will avoid it fast just with the mention. Is a bit distracting and will make the audio feel way more fluent and pro.

cool and interesting video, but made it a bit hard to focus on the content with all the "uh" and "ah".

The UMs and Ahs are extreemly distracting from what otherwise id an excellent presentation