Image: Tesla
Tesla has issued a recall notice for roughly 10,500 Powerwall 2 home battery systems in the United States due to a third-party battery-cell defect that has led to overheating incidents in both the U.S. and Australia. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Tesla has logged 22 reports of overheating so far, including six cases of smoking and five instances of fire that caused minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.
In its official recall documentation, Tesla said the affected Powerwall 2 units “may stop functioning normally, resulting in overheating, smoking and in some cases smoke or flame causing minor property damage.” The company added that the issue “is limited to this specific group of Powerwall 2 customers and does not affect Powerwall 3.”
Tesla’s Powerwall is a home battery system that stores excess energy from solar generation or pulls electricity from the grid during cheaper off-peak hours. Homeowners can tap into that stored power during outages, at night, or when electricity rates spike. In addition to keeping essentials like lights, Wi-Fi, and refrigerators online, a Powerwall can also support larger appliances — including air conditioners and heaters — without interruption.
The recall represents a tiny portion of Tesla’s global energy footprint. As of September, the company had installed more than 1 million Powerwalls worldwide, making the 10,500 recalled units only a small fraction of its total deployments. Still, the defect has also been discovered in Australia — one of Tesla’s strongest Powerwall markets — where monthly sales recently surged past 4,000 units.
Tesla says nearly all impacted Powerwall 2 batteries in the U.S. have already been “remotely discharged, which renders them safe,” with technicians handling any remaining units. The company confirmed that “every affected Powerwall 2 unit will be removed and replaced at no cost to customers.”
Image: Tesla
Customers will be notified through the Tesla app and contacted directly to schedule a replacement. Once a defective unit has been discharged, Tesla says it “does not pose an operational risk.” Solar customers can expect their panels to keep generating power, but backup capability will be unavailable until the replacement battery is installed.
The recall is being carried out in coordination with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which will oversee the effectiveness of the program. Tesla is advising customers to reach out to their original installer or contact its Powerwall support team if they have any concerns.
