Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
The lithium-ion battery used to power Tesla Motor’s electric vehicles could soon be available for use in the home, CEO Elon Musk confirmed during a conference call on Wednesday.
While speaking about the company’s earnings with analysts, Musk said that Tesla would unveil a consumer version of the Tesla battery that could be used in homes or businesses fairly quickly. “We have the design done, and it should start going into production in about six months or so,” he said.
That could position Tesla as “a frontrunner in the emerging energy-storage market,” according to Bloomberg, and combining the company’s large, efficient batteries with solar panels could allow some homeowners to go off-the-grid and avoid buying electricity from utility companies.
While Mashable said that it is currently unclear how much the battery will cost, Musk said that it could be officially unveiled within the next month or two. Tesla currently provides some energy-storage units to customers through its SolarCity Corp. unit, a solar-powered company which lists Musk as its chairman and largest shareholder, and its Fremont, California-based factory is said to be producing larger stationary storage systems for business and utility clients.
Bye, bye electric bill?
Last February, a Morgan Stanley analyst predicted that the company would look to enter the home energy market, and that such an endeavor could “disrupt” electric utilities in both the US and Europe. Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries are one of the main reasons for its success, allowing it to become the first American electric car maker to travel 200 miles on a single charge.
“Tesla’s battery and charging technology could ultimately wind up saving you money on your electric bill,” the Washington Post said, adding that while efficiently storing renewable energy “has been a big bottleneck for consumers and for utilities alike, but if Tesla’s stationary battery takes off, it could change the way electricity is priced and traded on a market scale.”
Customers who are frustrated with their utility companies due to frequent power outages and poor customer service could welcome the release of the batteries, the newspaper added. There are a limited number of options currently available for powering homes, and generators can be rather expensive (up to $20,000), so Tesla’s entry into the market could be met with open arms.
Been a long time coming
According to CNET, this isn’t the first time that Musk has discussed such a proposal. Last year, he said that he was hoping to build a battery based on the one used by the Model S that would be placed on a wall in a house and used as needed. Since the battery would actually be inside the home, he said he wanted it to have a “beautiful cover” and be “plug and play” for easy use.
“Musk didn’t disclose his full vision for the project, and whether the battery would power the entire home is unknown. But such batteries could be used in emergencies like power outages or, perhaps, to save energy,” the website continued. “Moving into the space would open an entirely new front for Tesla,” they added, and could “spark a similar trend in that realm.”
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