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Tesla’s new business: Battery backup systems for Solar City installs

Well, I shouldn’t say new, we got the above quote from Solar City months ago so it is pretty clear that the company that Elon Musk is the Chairman of is doing business with the company he is CEO (and co-founder and chairman) of.  Solar City also gives you a call after you purchase a Tesla to see if you want any help in getting a high power outlet out to your garage/driveway  – and while we’re out, let’s talk insulation and solar.  It’s all so convenient.

Now, SolarCity, the fast-growing solar installer, says it has found a solution, in the form of a battery system created with Tesla Motors.

The system, to be announced on Thursday, includes batteries about the size of a small refrigerator and software that controls when a building’s operations run on power from the solar array, the battery or the grid.

Considering that getting enough batteries is the #1 thing holding back Tesla Model S production, I wonder how happy Tesla is in doing this. On the flip side, is could be another motivation for building the battery ‘Giga-factory’.

Update: Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarifies batteries for Solar City won’t be the same hard to find dense models used in the Model S

 

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Comments

  1. There is an undoubted connectivity between renewables and readily available storage devices – including batteries. Money is moving in that direction, and long established utility companies are increasingly ripping up the long-term payback model out of fossil fuel and nuclear. There is increasing evidence for this in both empirical data, company valuations and broker advice:- https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6MsVXLDEq8VdjhkWFpPSUhPbWc/view?https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6MsVXLDEq8VRjBYYWFTNkZ0dEE/view?usp=sharing

Author

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Seth Weintraub

Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek sites. Tesla Model 3, X and Chevy Bolt owner…5 ebikes and counting