Trip Chowdhry, a Global Equities Research analyst has revealed some interesting information about Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)’s new product line.
Outside of the fact that it will not be a car, very little is known about what Tesla plans to announce. Some experts think it could be a motorcycle. Others assume that it will be an in-home battery that involves solar energy.
If Chowdhry’s information is correct, it seems that Tesla is ready to launch the in-home battery.
Testing, 1, 2, 3…
In a note to investors, Chowdhry said that he knows of two people that own a residential battery from Tesla. He spoke to one of those owners and detailed the following bullet points:
- “The Battery has to be installed 1.5 feet above the ground, and should have an open space of 1 ft on all sides.
- “The battery does not make any noise, does not need any maintenance, has no drippings.”
- “The Battery has the inverter also.”
- “The battery is about 3 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide and looks good.”
- “His battery can be controlled from his iPhone, and has a web application also.”
- “Charging directly from the Outlet. He does it…He charges the battery at night at $0.11 and then at 3:00 PM sells it back to Grid at $0.43. He tells me he makes between $10 to $12 every month doing this.”
- “Fully off Grid. His battery can be charged by a regular generator also.”
- “He has not had any problems with the Battery System…and gets OTA Software updates almost a couple of times a month.”
Chowdhry’s report also indicates that the 10 kWh battery could be priced at $13,000 with a 50 percent rebate from PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG). The nameless owner was offered many pricing plans (which he apparently cannot remember), but chose a plan that allowed him to pay $1,500 down and $15 per month for 10 years. After that the installer will retrieve the battery pack.
How Smart is this battery anyway?
Last year, Chowdhry attended a sustainability conference and learned that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is “widely believed” to have a few Tesla (commercial-grade) batteries in some of its buildings. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) might also purchase some of these batteries for its new campus.
Chowdhry believes that Tesla’s commercial-grade batteries are rated at more than 400 kWh.
Also, according to founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Inc, Elon Musk, Tesla will introduce a new product line separate from cars on Thursday, April 30 at 9 PM PT. The executive tweeted the news from his account on Monday, but so far has shared no other details about what might be in the works.
Musk has previously gone on record saying the company is gearing up to produce a new battery to power people’s homes instead of just their cars. During the company’s most recent earnings call in February, he revealed that the consumer battery pack for home use could enter production in as few as six months. This new category could well be this home battery, since the timing fits.
A Tesla home battery could be useful as a backup in case of outages, for homes located off-grid, or as a storage solution for customers using solar power collection installations in their homes.
Of course, Musk could be referring to something else entirely – we’ll know by the end of next month what exactly Tesla has up its sleeve.
Credit to Darrell Etherington (@etherington) of TechCrunch.
Aint that cool? Technology be expanding everyday and that is great.
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