Unlocking a Tesla with a Completely Drained Battery

If you own a Tesla and push the limits a bit too far by driving with a 0% battery, you may find yourself in a situation where the car's battery is so drained that it remains locked, depleted, and inaccessible. This occurs when the high-voltage battery of the vehicle is so empty that the low-voltage battery also becomes discharged.

The Low-Voltage Battery:

The low-voltage battery, located just below the windshield under the front hood, powers auxiliary components of the vehicle, such as the screen, airbags, windows, lighting, and door locks, among others. If this battery is also discharged, you'll find yourself unable to open your vehicle or even recharge it, as the charging port remains locked.

Unlocking a Closed and Unchargeable Tesla:

If you find yourself in this situation, here are the steps to follow to open the vehicle and unlock the charging port:

Step 1: Open the flap on the front bumper:

Located on the front bumper is a round flap containing two small electrical cables. When powered, these cables will allow you to open the hood of your Tesla.

To open the flap, press the upper right part. This will lift the lower left part, allowing you to use a flathead screwdriver to carefully unclip it.

Once the flap is removed, you'll see two electrical wires attached to it:

Detach them from the flap:

Power them using jumper cables and a battery, or by using another vehicle's battery (be sure to observe polarity, with the red wire being positive and the black wire being negative):

This will open the vehicle's hood. Once it's open, you can disconnect the battery, reattach the electrical wires to the flap, and close it.

Step 2: Power the Tesla's low-voltage battery:

The second step involves powering the Tesla's low-voltage battery using an external battery (similar to the previous step). This will re-energize the vehicle's electrical components, including the screen and door locks. You can then open and recharge it. The low-voltage battery is located under the plastic cover just below the windshield under the hood that you previously opened:

Pull it off easily:

You'll now see the vehicle's low-voltage battery, located roughly in the middle.

A small red cover protects the positive terminal of the battery.

Open it and connect the cable linked to the positive terminal of your external battery:

The negative terminal is connected to the entire vehicle's chassis, so you can connect your cable to any conductive part of the vehicle.

For example, connect your cable to the screw head located just below the windshield washer filler cap. Then, connect it to the negative terminal of your external battery:

Wait for a moment, and you should hear your Tesla waking up. The screen will come back on, and the doors will unlock. The charging port cover will also open.

Now, you just need to plug your vehicle into a power outlet to recharge it.

Once the vehicle is in the charging process, you can disconnect the external battery.