Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday night changes to how Tesla Solar Panels and Roof products will be sold.
According to Musk, “Starting next week, Tesla Solar Panels & Solar Roof will only be sold as an integrated product *with* Tesla Powerwall battery.” In other words, you won’t be able to buy Tesla’s solar panels and roof products on their own—you must buy them with a Powerwall battery pack.
Solar power will feed exclusively to Powerwall. Powerwall will interface only between utility meter & house main breaker panel, enabling super simple install & seamless whole house backup during utility dropouts.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2021
“Solar power will feed exclusively to Powerwall. Powerwall will interface only between utility meter & house main breaker panel, enabling super simple install & seamless whole house backup during utility dropouts,” added Musk.
Earlier today, Brett Winton from ARK Invest said he had Tesla’s solar product installed since January of this year, but it “hasn’t generated a single-watt hour”, as he was waiting for his utility to approve the connection.
Did you buy a Powerwall? Utility permission is required for flowing electricity back to grid, but usually not if stored in our battery. This also enables 24/7 electricity security for your home.
Utility permission is still needed for when Powerwall is full & can stabilize grid.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2021
Musk replied, “Did you buy a Powerwall? Utility permission is required for flowing electricity back to grid, but usually not if stored in our battery. This also enables 24/7 electricity security for your home.”
“Utility permission is still needed for when Powerwall is full & can stabilize grid,” added Musk. Winton later added he does own a Powerwall, but is just awaiting the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to approve his connection to have excess power sent back to the grid.
The announcement from Musk corroborates a previous report from March, that said the company had discontinued the sale of Powerwall without its Solar Panel product.
The change comes amid recent Tesla Solar Roof price estimate increases that happened for customers earlier this month. These users saw their Solar Roof estimates jump up by tens of thousands of dollars, with no changes in configuration, resulting in customers being puzzled at the huge price hike.
Update 10:23pm PDT: Must just added the following, saying “Powerwall 2 peak & steady power capability is better than advertised. Now that we have lots of operational data, Tesla can unlock higher capabilities for free via software update next month. Depending on production date, power increase power may be >50% at 30C ambient temp.”
Powerwall 2 peak & steady power capability is better than advertised.
Now that we have lots of operational data, Tesla can unlock higher capabilities for free via software update next month.
Depending on production date, power increase power may be >50% at 30C ambient temp.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2021
