Tesla’s energy business (solar + storage) is doing $6 billion of annual revenue, growing at over 50% YoY. IMO this is a massively under-appreciated aspect of their business.
I'm not a fan of Tesla's vehicles, but their batteries are seriously impressive. I love the innovation they've brought to cell design, chemistry, thermal management, and even the BMS. The last time I looked into it, they were leagues ahead of the competition on several fronts.
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr OP 2 Apr
who do you see as their next-closest competitor in energy storage?
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A few years ago it was Panasonic, and I think they're still fairly big on the LiFePO4 scene. They invest quite a lot in battery R&D as well. I feel like everyone's trying to play catch up now though. I wouldn't pretend to know what the current landscape is like. Chinese production has ramped up a lot, so it might be worth comparing Tesla's latest cells to BYD's. There are also smaller players constantly coming onto the scene - Microvast might be interesting for instance. No idea about the major automotive makers, but I'm sure they're progressing as well.
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63 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 2 Apr
interesting, i remember closely following Tesla and Panasonic a while back, but hadn’t heard of Microvast and I’m not up to speed on BYD’s latest cells.
lots of research for me to do, thanks!
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If anyone is interested in this or still wants to be inspired by the idea of being energy self sufficient I can recommend this video:
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Sick animations indeed, he explains things very well. Elon has so many business levers he can pull to get some growth/hype... bidirectional charging is one of them. I'd rather see him focus on that instead of ugly trucks/X incendiary notes.
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There are lots of homes that actually have profitable solar potential, so I expect this trend to continue.
Lots of states and local jurisdictions are also working on their regulations to make it easier to sell your energy onto the grid.
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144 sats \ 3 replies \ @kr OP 2 Apr
yup, interestingly the storage component is doing far better than the solar component right now.
if their solar business begins to grow too, look out!
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I believe they're still on their first generation solar roof. I know people are reluctant to install such an expensive and durable technology when there's likely to be an improvement in the near future.
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102 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 2 Apr
the reveal event for the solar roof was in 2016, so i worry that there is some deeper problem with the technology with the solar roof specifically
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Maybe. Supposedly, they're reasonably comparable economically to a new roof + solar panels, so there may just not have been enough development to warrant a new product yet.
I've heard the biggest knock on the Tesla Roof is just dealing with the company to get it installed.
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Tesla is an energy company, change my mind.
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42 sats \ 2 replies \ @nym 2 Apr
I wonder if they will use that technology to mine Bitcoin one day?
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Megapacks are competition for miners when it comes to load modulation, but more/better solar roofs bode well for mining decentralization.
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Great info. I had no idea about this.
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stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.