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Investor's Corner

What You Need to Know about Tesla’s Battery Storage Solution

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A new tweet from Elon Musk this week promises a new product line debut on April 30 and most, including me, have our guesses that it will be Tesla’s battery storage solution as mentioned in the last quarterly earnings call.

This article will boil down what we know - where this may be offered and how much money Tesla drivers may need to dish out.

From Dana Hull's article last June in the San Jose Mercury, the battery storage product offers:

  • A lithium-ion battery storage system, called the home energy Storage system, from Solar City
  • Contained in a 4-foot-tall metal box mounted on the wall of a  garage
  • Made by Tesla but offered by San Mateo-based SolarCity to its California solar customers as part of a small pilot project.
  • Goes for $1,500 down and $15 a month over a 10-year lease period.
SolarCity-Tesla-energy-storage

SolarCity + Tesla battery pack for storing solar energy. Source: Forum member myI55 via CleanTechnica

Hull received feedback from a battery storage user that's undergoing the pilot program.  But more recently, Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry via Benzinga pulled in some real-world data from two additional people testing Tesla's battery storage solution.

Here are some of the highlights from this article:

  • 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 also has an inverter
  • The installer offered a choice between 10KWH and 15KWH;

Chowdry's article reported a similar price as to what was reported in the San Jose Mercury article and mentioned that a "10kWh battery could be priced at $13,000 with a 50 percent rebate from PG&E Corporation." That's a hefty rebate and a big incentive.

The Chowdry article also stated that there are battery storage owners in other states, about 100. So it's not limited to California. However, the April 30 announcement could be limited to just current Solar City sales territories.

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The Benzinga article mentioned that one owner "charges the battery at night at $0.11 and then sells it back to the grid at 3PM for $0.43, and makes $10 to 12 month doing this."

This revenue opportunity may not exist in all states. In Illinois, solar customers receive a monthly credit based on the number of solar kWh it pushes back to the grid.

This sell-back opportunity for the resident is a point Jigar Shah, solar financier, has emphasized.  Shah argues that utilities need to have real-time analytics and a communication infrastructure to provide energy pricing signals quickly to customers. Shah feels the onus is on utilities to modernize and provide residents these tools or else residential battery solutions could be "dead assets."

From the most recent earnings conference call in February, Musk says that Tesla could be producing these battery packs in six months. JB Straubel, Tesla's point person for its energy storage strategy  (& gigafactory), reiterated this point last year at an energy industry conference.

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Struaubel said, "We see the California mandate for stationary energy storage by 2020 and we're (Tesla) quite a lot more bullish. We think that mandate will be met and far exceeded before the timeframe expires. We all should be thinking bigger."

So are you considering a battery storage solution?

"Grant Gerke wears his Model S on his sleeve and has been writing about Tesla for the last five years on numerous media sites. He has a bias towards plug-in vehicles and also writes about manufacturing software for Automation World magazine in Chicago. Find him at Teslarati

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Investor's Corner

Lucid CEO dispels any rumors of bankruptcy: ‘So far from the facts’

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Credit: Lucid

Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.

The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.

The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”

Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”

Napoli said:

“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.

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As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.

We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.

My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.

I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”

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It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.

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Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.

Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

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Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

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Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets price target upgrade on heels of crazy successful auto quarter

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla received a price target upgrade just on the heels of what was a crazy successful quarter for its automotive business, as the company reported a delivery beat of over 15 percent for Q2.

Jefferies analysts are upping Tesla’s price target (NASDAQ: TSLA) to $400 from $375, while maintaining their “Hold” rating on shares, and the strong automotive deliveries from Q2 is a big reason. However, there are some other catalysts that Jefferies believes position Tesla for a strong position in the second half of the year.

Strong Deliveries

Tesla reported 480,000 deliveries for Q2, while Wall Street was between 395,000 and 405,000, as an overall consensus. It was an incredibly strong quarter from a delivery perspective, and Tesla sold well more than it produced during the three months.

Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent

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While vehicle deliveries are not necessarily looked at in the light that they used to be, Tesla still maintains a lot of advantages for keeping deliveries strong. With the loss of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year, Tesla still maintains a strong demand case for its EVs.

Robotaxi Performance

Tesla has been operating Robotaxi for over a year now, as it launched in Austin in mid-2025. That program has expanded to Houston and Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and, most recently, Miami, Florida, the suite’s first appearance in the Sunshine State.

While the Robotaxi suite is still in its early phases and Tesla is working through things like fleet size and wait times, the company has been able to undercut the pricing of its competitors and has a great safety record.

Merger Speculation with Tesla and SpaceX

This is perhaps the biggest topic that many are speaking about with Tesla and SpaceX, and it is the one thing that seems to be on the mind of every investor.

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Jefferies warns that growing talk of a Tesla-SpaceX merger could cause Tesla stock to trade more like a SpaceX proxy, which may disconnect it from underlying automotive fundamentals. SpaceX has a lot going for it, especially its compute deals that have been widely publicized as of late.

Profitability in New Projects Could Take Some Time

Tesla has a few long-term ventures in the pipeline, most notably the Optimus project and Robotaxi, which is launched but will take several years to expand to a meaningful level that resonates with everyday people.

This is something that investors need to be careful of. Tesla’s projects could take some time to round out, so Jefferies advises that these may carry initial losses, rather than immediate profit. Seasoned Tesla investors have echoed something like this for a long time; they knew going in it would not be an open-and-shut strategy. It was going to take time.

These new projects are no different.

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