Tesla shook up the world of cars by making the first electric car sexy enough that it wasn’t just for environmentalists. Now Tesla is shaking up the power grid with battery packs that are as cool a piece of innovation as they are a stylish piece of technology. But what do the new battery packs mean for business?
The concept for the Tesla Powerwall is, like most of Elon Musk’s ideas, breathtakingly simple. Rather than selling solar energy back to the electrical company, Tesla battery packs save that power for later on in the day when there’s less solar energy coming from the sun and rates are higher. What’s more, you don’t even need a solar panel. Your battery pack allows your business to “load shift” and buy electricity during the day when rates are low and use what you’ve stored later on when rates are higher.
Tesla’s ambition for the Powerwall technology is much greater than just saving you a few bucks on your electrical bill however. Musk and co are looking for nothing short of moving to a zero-emission power grid. That might be bold talk, but again, this is the guy who made $165 million selling PayPal to eBay, made the electric car stylish, and used his fortune to start SpaceX and commercialize space travel.
The packs cost $3500 for 10 kwh of storage or $3000 for 7 kwh of storage. That won’t power any large businesses, but it could power smaller or medium sized businesses—and start bringing down the cost of your electrical bill. For larger businesses Tesla’s Powerpack holds up to 100 kwh, an order of magnitude greater than the Powerwall. Being infinitely scalable, it’s a piece of innovation that might be a game changer for many businesses.
Should you reserve one today? It’s hard to say. But a Powerwall or Powerpack will probably be a prudent investment sooner rather than later. In the here and now, entrepreneurship for Powerwall and Powerpack peripherals might be a better opportunity for your business.