It’s really quite clear that Elon Musk isn’t doing this Tesla thing just to make cars – he’s really on a mission to create a new energy future and today unveiled a new upgraded battery system and solar panels that can change the way people think about home solar and energy.
The concept is quite simple – rather than bolting solar panels onto a new roof – if you’re re-doing your roof then surely there’s a better way.
Enter the Tesla Solar Tiles – these roof tiles, in various looks and finishes, are part glass roof tile and part solar panel.
Each tile has a small solar panel in it, which isn’t easily visible from the street because of the angle of view – but when the sun shines down it shines directly onto that small solar panel.
Across your whole roof you end up with a clean look, and excellent power generation.
Pair that with the new Tesla Powerwall 2 which has increase capacity and output and your home is probably creating more power than you need.
The new Powerwall 2 can power a 4-bedroom home for an entire day.
Critically though, Elon Musk specifically pointed out that this was not about becoming independent of the utilities. He believes that as the world moves to electric (for transport and storage of power) there will be a dramatic increase in the total requirement for power, as such utilities would still make up two thirds of total power usage.
He didn’t break this down at a household level though, as you’d expect the utility reliance to be lower in homes than industry.
Australian pricing and availability has not been released for the tiles or new powerwalls, but with Solar Companies already strongly pushing the Tesla powerwall product, it’s only a matter of time.
