In a recently published YouTube video, the automotive experts over at “Teardown Titan” Sandy Munro’s Munro & Associates fielded some of the many questions they received over the course of more than half a dozen videos featuring Tesla’s next-generation 4680 battery pack.
Over the past few months, Munro & Associates took apart a Model Y with Tesla’s new structural battery pack and next-generation 4680 cells, documenting and sharing the entire journey.
Their goal was to dissect the battery pack and extract every single 4680 battery cell, which they have since done. In their latest video, Munro & Associates President Cory Steuben and Antonio DiNunno, the company’s senior engineer and resident battery expert, answered some of the community’s top questions regarding the 4680 cells and Tesla’s new Model Y. Cory and Antonio.
According to Steuben and DiNunno, just getting the cover off the battery pack took about two weeks. Granted, that was largely due to several unknown quantities in the process. Underneath, they found what they have aptly named the “pink foam of death.”
“It was incredibly challenging to get this pack apart, particularly compared to the 18650s on the Model S Plaid and the 2170s on the Model 3 and Model Y,” said Steuben. Munro & Associates spent about 50% of the cost of the actual vehicle simply to tear its battery pack down. For context, the Model Y Long Range currently costs $67,990 in the U.S.
Their efforts were not in vain, however, as they were able to get up close and personal with the intricate composition of Tesla’s new 4680 battery pack and thoroughly study it.
Interestingly, they found that the pack itself has some room for expansion. If Tesla wanted, they could add another row of battery cells for additional range. Currently, the Model Y’s 4680 battery pack has a usable capacity of 67.5 kWh.
Munro & Associates will easily be able to cover the cost of the teardown, though. They are selling individual 4680 battery cells from their adventure for $800 a pop, and they previously said that the pre-orders were “selling like crazy.”
You can check out the full Q&A video below:
Munro & Associates also plans to make a detailed report on Tesla’s new 4680 battery cells available to the public — for an as yet undetermined fee — through their website in the near future.
