Tesla
Date: 2019-10-30
In a recent tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered a $1,000 discount on its solar panels and Powerwall energy storage system to the more than 2 million Californians affected by utility "preemptive" power disruptions and wildfire power outages which are increasingly common in the Golden State.

Tesla's Powerwall home battery system for a 2,200-square-foot home retails for roughly $14,100 so, although a timely offer, Musk's discount is far from extravagant. (Source: Tesla, The Verge, 28 Oct., 2019)Contact: Tesla Powerwall, www.tesla.com/en_CA/powerwall

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Tesla
Date: 2019-08-21
Tesla announced through a series of tweets byTesla CEO Elon Musk, using social media as his messenger, has re-launched its Tesla Solar business by offering "cookie-cutter" solar systems to rent in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Mexico. The rental options range from roughly $65 to $195 per month the following sized unites: Small -- 3.8 kW, ideal for a 1,000- to 2,000-sq-ft home; Medium -- 7.6 kW, ideal for a 2,000- to 3,000-sq-ft home; and Large -- 11.4 kW, ideal for a 3,000+-sq-ft home.

There is no upfront installation cost, no long-term contract, and the monthly rental payment can be canceled at any time. If homeowners want to remove the rented solar system, it will cost $1,500. There is no specification of what happens to the system if homeowners don't want to remove it but also don't want to pay the monthly rental fee. A Powerwall battery unit is not included but can be purchased -- not rented -- separately. (Source: Tesla, Various Social Media, Aug., 2019) Contact: Tesla, www.tesla.com/solar

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Tesla,Solar City
Date: 2019-06-14
"I am very excited about version 3 of solar roof. We have a shot at being equal to a comp shingle roof plus someone's utility cost or being lower than that. That's one of the cheapest roofs available. So you can have a great roof with better economics than a normal fairly cheap roof and your utility bill." -- Elon Musk, Tesla, CEO

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Tesla's next generation of solar roof tiles will be even less expensive than initially announced after Tesla's 2017 merger with Solar City. Today, a standard asphalt shingle roof can cost as little as $4 per square foot. In 2018, the Solar City solar tiles cost about $21.85 per square foot.

Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016 for $2.6 billion and planned to offer solar panels and home battery storage systems to consumers through its retail stores and online. In 2018, Tesla cut prices on its residential solar systems and its often touted solar roof tiles have not yet been produced on a commercial scale. (Source: Tesla, ZME Science, June, 2019)Contact: Tesla, www.teslamotors.com; SolarCity Corp., (650) 638-1028, www.solarcity.com

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NASA,SpaceX
Date: 2019-06-12
NASA is reporting development of a cost-effective, non-toxic fuel that will be used in a future Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) launch of Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Falcon Heavy spacecraft.

The safe to handle green fuel, which features a mixture of hydroxyl ammonium nitrate and an oxidizer, was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory in California. The new fuel also delivers almost 50 pct better performance than hydrazine, allowing a spacecraft to travel for a longer period of time even with minimal fuel onboard.

According to Sacramento-headquartered Aeorojet Rocketdyne, the company that developed the propulsion system for the GPIM, the company will focus on building similar systems that can cater the new green fuel. (Source: NASA, International Business Times, 11 June, 2019) Contact: Aeorojet Rocketdyne, Fred Wilson, www.rocket.com; NASA, (818) 354-4321, www.jpl.nasa.gov, www.nasa.gov; SpaceX, www.spacex.com

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Tesla Solar
Date: 2018-10-26
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the planned ramping up of the company's home solar roof product that uses solar cell embedded glass roof glass tiles to generate electricity.

The company began taking orders for the product in 2017 on the assumption the mass production would start that summer. Mass production has now been rescheduled for the summer of 2019, according to Musk's announcement.

According to Tesla, the solar roof product is expected to cost $21.85 per square foot for a 3,000-square-foot roof. (Source: Tesla, C/MET, 25 Oct., 2018)Contact: Tesla Solar, www.tesla.com/en_CA/solarroof

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Tesla
Date: 2018-07-03
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reports Tesla is working with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on a massive battery system with a capacity of "up to 1.1 GWh" in California.

PG&E has submitted 4 new energy storage projects to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval today. Three are third-party owned projects to be connected to the PG&E grid. The fourth project is a "proposed utility-owned 182.5 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS). Tesla would supply the battery packs for the giant project while PG&E has the option to increase the capacity to 1.1 GWh. (Source: Tesla, electrk, 29 June, 2018)Contact: Tesla Power Pack, www.tesla.com/en_CA/powerpack; PG&E, www.pg&e.com

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Tesla,Samsung SDI
Date: 2017-10-02
In Palo Alto, California, Tesla reports it has selected Samsung SDI, rather than its EV battery supplier Panasonic, to supply battery cells for massive Australian energy-storage facility which Tesla CEO Elon Musk vowed to build within 100 days, "on time or its free" after regional power outages. Tesla is importing the Samsung cells to the U.S. for final assembly before sending them to Australia.

The South Australia state government has placed an order with Tesla for one the world's largest battery systems, capable of storing 100,000kW -- sufficient power for approximately 30,000 homes. (Source: Tesla, Nikkei, 30 Sept., 2017) Contact: Tesla, www.teslamotors.com; Samsung SDI, www.samsungsdi.com

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Tesla
Date: 2017-08-09
Electric auto maker and soon to be solar giant Tesla reports it has begun installing its solar roof in the US. Earlier this year, the company began taking $1,000 (£761) deposits for its glass roof tiles which, according to the company, are indistinguishable from high-end roofing. Tesla claims the product, which takes around a week to install, is more than three times stronger than standard roofing tiles.

As we previously reported, Musk says the new tempered, textured glass tiles look like ordinary roof tiles but allow light to pass through from above onto a standard flat solar cell. They are "tough as steel" and can weather a "lifetime of abuse from the elements" as well as be fitted with heating elements to melt snow in colder climates. According to Musk, the tiles are "never going to wear out", have a "quasi-infinite lifetime" and are comparable to competing high-efficiency solar panels. (Source: Tesla, Various Media, 4 Aug., 2017)

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