Tesla batteries are powering houses in Ukraine as Russia continues attacking the country’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left many Ukrainians without power. The owner of Ukrainian Autonomous Systems, Oleksandr Bentsa, realized he could salvage batteries from damaged Tesla to power Ukraine’s homes and businesses.
In November 2023, Teslarati wrote an article about Ukraine’s wreck importers, who restore damaged electric vehicles from North America. Bentsa buys crashed Teslas through insurance auctions in the United States. The damaged Teslas are imported into Ukraine, where they are usually restored and resold.
In the spring, Bentsa started a new trade: using Tesla batteries to provide Ukrainians with an alternative power source.
His new trade would help Ukrainians through rolling nationwide blackouts. Russia has dealt a severe blow to Ukraine’s electricity-generating capacity. As a result, energy companies have imposed nationwide blackouts, leaving homes and businesses without power for up to 20 hours a day.
“An old Tesla, including the cost of delivery, will be nearly $10,000. And you can turn that into 12 batteries, and also sell the parts,” he told Financial Times.
Bentsa’s batteries have a capacity of 5kWh, enough to power a normal Kyiv apartment for 10 hours with some limitations. The salvaged Tesla batteries can power lights and some electric equipment but may not provide enough energy to run inefficient electric heaters.
Bentsa sells the 5kWh Tesla batteries to the Ukrainian army at a loss. Some civilian customers have also approached Bentsa to purchase Tesla batteries. Demand for the salvaged Tesla batteries have skyrocketed. Bentsa expects demand to increase further as winter looms closer.
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