Tesla (TSLA) confirms plan to launch electricity retail business in Texas

Tesla has confirmed its plan to launch a new electricity retail business in Texas through a new job posting for a role overseeing the new business unit.

Last year, Tesla created a new business unit called Tesla Energy Ventures and applied with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to sell electricity on the retail market.

The plans haven’t been clear, but Tesla has since launched a virtual power plant demonstration with Powerwall owners in Texas, and the goal is to demonstrate the value to ERCOT, Texas’s electric utility regulating body, in order to operate a virtual power plant in the state – as it does in California.

Tesla could be looking to get deeper into the Texas energy market and become a dull electricity retailer, which is what the company now confirms through a new job posting found by Electrek. The automaker is looking for a “Product Operations Manager, Retail Electricity” based in Austin.

In the description, Tesla said that the role will oversee “the launch and growth of a new electricity retailer in the Texas market.”

This Product Operations Manager will be central to the success of Tesla’s emerging Electricity Retail business. This person will support the launch and growth of a new electricity retailer in the Texas market. This person will be responsible for managing retail electricity products, administering the customer portfolio, coordinating customer support, and tracking financial performance.

The company added that it would prefer someone with experience “in residential electricity retail, preferably with a retail electricity provider in ERCOT.”

Tesla has been expanding its solar and storage business rapidly in Texas. The automaker is currently building what will likely become the largest rooftop solar installation in the world at Gigafactory Texas, and it is also planning a large battery system with a planned output of 250 MW.

The move into electricity retail in Texas appears to be part of Musk’s vision for Tesla Energy to become a distributed global utility. The CEO also said that he believes Tesla’s energy business could outgrow its automotive business.