Earlier this year, during the Tesla Motors [NASDAQ: TSLA] Shareholders Meeting, Electrek reported that, "[Elon] Musk previously said that he expected about 1/3 of the Gigafactory production would go toward Tesla Energy products for energy storage, Powerwall and Powerpacks, and 2/3 toward battery packs for Tesla vehicles. Today he updated his expected split to 'closer to even'... [and] he added – with a 'high degree of uncertainty' – that on a revenue standpoint in the long-term, he expects Tesla Energy products will generate similar revenue for Tesla as the company’s vehicles."
Wait a second. Could the Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack stationary battery storage products really equal revenue from Tesla's automotive sales? Perhaps. From recent reports, it appears that Tesla's efforts surrounding stationary battery storage are quickly ramping up. And Tesla's competitive advantage could be quite significant. News out of Australia's Financial Review is encouraging, "Tesla's Powerwall 2 can pay for itself in six years, then its electricity is free." Their view? "This scotches the view that battery technology won't move as quickly as solar panels, and brings closer the tipping point at which batteries penetrate the mass market as solar panels have done."
And Teslarati reports that the, "Tesla Powerwall 2 costs 30% less than [it's] closest competitor... Comparing the cost per warrantied kilowatt-hour (cycled once per day) across 30 different battery systems, Powerwall 2 has the most favorable cost to store each kWh of energy in the battery, as warrantied by the manufacturer." A quick reference of, "a battery comparison table, provided courtesy of Renew Economy AU [see below], gives the cost per warrantied kilowatt-hour for over 30 battery systems when fully cycled once per day. The Powerwall 2 is well ahead of the closest competition."
And there's more — Fortune recently reported on another remarkable project. Where? Located on the "Hawaiian island of Kauai sits a first of its kind solar and battery project... [where] close to 55,000 solar panels, which are still being installed on the site, [and they] aren’t yet converting the sun’s light into electricity, but something else quite remarkable is happening at the project... [as] it will be one of the first ones where a utility is using big blocks of Tesla batteries, and it will also be one of the first utility systems to use solar and batteries to displace power-hungry generators."
And Fortune also notes that, "the solar and battery project is a glimpse into a future in which energy companies combine clean power with energy storage in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and in some cases reduce energy costs. In addition, the project shows how Tesla, an electric car and battery tech maker, could work closely with [newly acquired] SolarCity to construct the solar and battery vision laid out by billionaire Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla." Could projects like this scale worldwide for Tesla? Indeed, it turns out that: "Tesla plans to do 'hundreds of utility-level battery installations,' said Musk."