Could the new Tesla battery transform the "energy infrastructure"?

3 mai 2015

Le patron de SpaceX, Elon Musk, le 13 janvier à Détroit. Elon Musk / Credit Photo Reuters Rebecca Cooks

According to Elon Musk, founder and boss, Tesla was never a simple EV manufacturer But a technology company whose mission is to innovate in the field of energy. Thursday, April 30th, he made a new step in this direction, with the presentation Tesla Energy, a range of so-called stationary batteries designed to homes, businesses and energy producers.

Mr. Musk does not only want to accelerate the energy transition. He dreamed of a planet where all the energy consumed come from renewable resources. The solution: the sun, "who gets up every morning and provides an incredible amount of energy," says Musk. But the energy produced by the solar panels must be stored to power homes and factories when the sun does not shine.

Tesla Energy intends to remedy this problem with two models. For housing and small businesses, the company will market the POWERWALL. Its dimensions are modest: 1m30 high, 86 cm wide and 18 cm deep. And it looks particularly good. Several colors are also available. It will cling to a wall, inside or outside. Two versions will be sold this summer in the US, a respective capacity of 7 kWh and 10 kWh.

If this announcement was expected, the main surprise came from the price: 3000 and 3500 dollars, excluding installation costs. Before the presentation, Cosmin Laslau, analyst at Lux Research, expected a range from 6 000 to 8 000. Forecasts often exceeded 10 thousand dollars.

For large companies and energy producers, Tesla Energy will propose the PowerPack, with a capacity of 100 kWh. These batteries can be combined "to infinity" promises Mr. Musk. The company will conduct pilot programs over the next few months, fueling such a data center from Amazon and Target several supermarkets. A power plant owned by a subsidiary of Edison International will also test these batteries.