Man Rebuilds Flooded Tesla Model S For Just $6,500 (Rs 216 450)

If you're like most people, spending anywhere between $47,000 for a Tesla CPO Model S 60 and $147,000 for a Model S P100D with all the trimmings is, sadly, out of the question. So, how much would you shell out to get one of these premium electric sedans in your driveway? Does $6,500 sound reasonable? Of course it does. How about $6,500 along with a whole lot of labor, wheeling and dealing of salvaged vehicles, and auctioning off of parts? I guess it depends on your level of motivation.

Rich, YouTube's "Car Guru," is exactly this motivated. And, luckily for us, he's spent the time and effort to document his journey to awesome and affordable EV-dom. Now, you may have met Delores (Yes, he names his cars. Don't judge. Too much.) here before, when we shared the Guru's video series about restoring a Tesla salvaged after a flood. This time around, though, we get into the numbers and the convoluted process surrounding her transformation.

In case you don't have time to watch the video — though we highly recommend that you do — it breaks down like this: $14,000 for flood victim Delores; subtract $10,000 from selling functional battery modules; subtract another $3,000 from selling the non-working motor; subtract an additional $900 from parting out the seat airbags and a few miscellaneous interior trim pieces and we're pretty much looking at a free shell of a car.

Now, things get a bit more complicated. To replace the missing and non-functional parts for Delores, our hero bought "Slim Shady," a crashed Model S, for $14,500. He then sold the airbags, steering wheel, and dash for $3,000; the doors brought in another $1,500; the aluminum shell a further $1,700; the battery fuse and coolant pump, and assorted other bits brought in $1,800. Voila! A $6,500 Tesla Model S.

Of course, this doesn't include the labor cost of stripping and reassembling the cars. Nor does it factor in some storage fees and the priceless patience of his family. It also doesn't take into consideration that he still has a number of parts he could sell and bring that net cost lower. Overall, though, we are still impressed with the actual dollar amount, even with all the added asterisks.