Reverse Engineering a Tesla Battery Management System for More Power
Patrick Kiley reverse engineers the Tesla Model S Battery Management System (BMS), analyzing firmware changes that unlock 'Ludicrous Mode' acceleration.
Summary
The Mechanics of Tesla's Ludicrous Mode
In 2015, Tesla introduced 'Ludicrous Mode' for the Model S P85D, upgrading the battery fuse and contactors to deliver 1500 amps and 2.8-second 0-60 acceleration.
Dissecting the Tesla Battery Management System (BMS)
Patrick Kiley performs an in-depth hardware and firmware teardown of the Tesla high-voltage battery pack and its internal microcontroller architecture.
Reverse Engineering CAN Bus Telemetry and Pyrofuse Logic
Analyzing CAN communications between the powertrain inverter and BMS reveals how the battery monitors current draw, cell temperatures, and pyrotechnic fuse status.
Unlocking High-Performance EV Capabilities
Kiley details firmware modification techniques and safety parameters for EV builders seeking to extract maximum power safely from salvaged battery packs.
Related talks
Main Stage·14 min
Archwisp
Explores the evolution of vehicular emissions inspections from physical tailpipe sniffers to OBD-II queries and demonstrates how testing logic can be bypassed.
Main Stage·40 min
Thomas Sermpinis
Real-world stories and technical challenges encountered while reverse engineering and hacking automotive systems.
Main Stage·39 min
Timm Lauser · Jannis Hamborg
Reverse engineering vehicle-to-grid communication interfaces and internal vehicle buses to map controls into a custom game input system.