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Tesla CTO JB Straubel Talks Clean Energy Revolution

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Tesla CTO JB Straubel took to the stage at the SDF (Seoul Digital Forum) to discuss Tesla’s vision for a clean energy revolution. SDF is a major international conference that invites some of the world’s most influential innovators to come and share insights on solving key industry and social issues.

The 20 minute video by JB provides an in-depth look on how Tesla was able to use battery technology to become a major driving force behind the clean energy revolution. JB discusses how Tesla has used Li-ion batteries to revolutionize not only the way we drive our cars but the way energy is stored both inside and outside our homes.

 

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Cybertruck

Tesla’s most delayed Cybertruck feature is finally here

Tesla finally links Cybertruck Powershare with Powerwall 3 for extended home backup after years overdue.

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Tesla’s Cybertruck can now pair with a Powerwall 3 to keep a house running longer during an outage, a feature the company first promised when the truck launched in November 2023.

The official Cybertruck account posted the update on X Thursday: “Powerwall 3 & I can now power your house together. This extends your home backup by over 3 days, equivalent to 9 additional Powerwalls,” Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill confirmed the rollout separately, calling it the first time a vehicle and a home battery have worked together this way. Powerwall 2 and Powerwall+ compatibility is still coming later this year, per both the Cybertruck account and Morrill.

Powershare itself is not new. Tesla enabled the version that lets Cybertruck power tools, appliances or another EV through its bed outlets when the truck launched in 2023. Home backup through a Powershare Gateway and Universal Wall Connector arrived in 2024, and Tesla extended that support to homes with solar the following year. What has been missing until now is Powershare working alongside an existing Powerwall, instead of functioning as a separate backup source competing for the same job.

The pairing matters because a single Powerwall home battery typically covers a home for about a day, less if usage is heavy or the outage stretches into a heat wave or freeze. A second Powerwall for more backup storage costs several thousand dollars installed. A Cybertruck instead uses a battery the owner already has, one large enough here to add roughly three more days of backup without mounting another unit or booking an installer visit. For households in wildfire, hurricane or winter storm regions where outages run past a day, that keeps the refrigerator and medical equipment running instead of shutting down.

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Tesla provides Cybertruck Powershare release update

The company told owners in October 2024 that Powerwall integration was coming sometime in 2025. That date passed, and in December 2025 Tesla pushed the target to mid-2026, with Morrill explaining at the time that two grid-forming devices need to negotiate which one manages a home during an outage, and that certifying the process across multiple generations of Powerwall took longer than expected.

For owners who bought Powershare hardware expecting it to work with whatever battery setup they already had, Thursday’s update closes a gap that has shown up repeatedly in owner complaints since Cybertruck deliveries began. Tesla has also rolled out a separate Powershare grid support program in Texas, letting Cybertrucks send power back to the grid during high demand events, so the truck’s role in a home’s energy setup keeps expanding even as individual pieces of it arrive later than promised.

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Energy

Tesla mulls battery storage plant alongside EV production in India: report

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla is mulling a potential plan to build a battery storage production plant alongside its potential electric vehicle production facility in India, according to a new report.

Tesla has been attempting to come to terms with the Indian government on an electric vehicle production plant for several years, but the talks have gotten more intense over the past few months as the automaker wants to build a factory that would produce a $24,000 car.

CEO Elon Musk has said this year that Tesla will hopefully come to terms with the Indian government this year, with the big bottleneck being the two parties not able to agree on terms regarding import duties that would allow the company to test demand by sending cars from other countries.

These duties price out many customers as, in some cases, they can double the price of a car. However, there has been more movement in the direction of an agreement in terms of this year, and it may not involve importing.

Now, Reuters is reporting that Tesla is planning to take it a step further by building energy storage products in India. Tesla is proposing that it could support India’s battery storage capabilities with the Powerwall, which stores excess energy generated from solar panels.

Tesla and India may not come to terms on import duties, but the plan to bring a wider business model to the country may be the bridge that is needed to make a deal.

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One source said that the government wants to help create a fair business model for Tesla as it could offer subsidies for those who purchase energy storage products.

Tesla and the Indian government are still reviewing the proposal, and they are reportedly “keen” on the idea. However, it is still under review.

The source also said:

“Large policy level calibration will be required. Tesla’s intent is to have the Powerwall business in India.”

Tesla could be India’s answer to peak-time shortages and demand surges as the country has boosted supply to towns and villages. India is dependent on coal-based power generation, and its 1.4 billion people depend on non-renewable sources for nearly 58 percent of its energy needs. Non-fossil fuels make up the remaining percentage, with Solar being the biggest contributor, according to the country’s Ministry of Power.

Powerwall would help residents avoid outage issues, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was extremely interested in how it could help farmers when he met with Tesla brass in 2015.

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“Enjoyed discussion on how battery technology can help farmers,” he said. Musk also said he had a productive talk with Modi about solar and how batteries and storage systems can empower rural communities.

“The Prime Minister was very keen to see how we could utilize the battery power ball concept to leapfrog development in India,” Vikas Swarup, Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in 2015.

Tesla just recently launched a new version of the Powerwall as well, which offers new and improved specifications that will help keep the lights on longer and avoid outages.

Tesla Powerwall 3 specs officially listed on company website

Please email me with questions and comments at joey@teslarati.com. I’d love to chat! You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Energy

Tesla HVAC system still on the future products list: Elon Musk

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tesla model 3 charging
(Credit: Tesla)

Talk about a Tesla HVAC system hasn’t come up for quite a while, but Elon Musk recently confirmed that it is still on the future products list. 

On Monday, Tesla shareholder, Owen Sparks, asked Elon Musk to make a home HVAC with HEPA filter to help with allergies. The Tesla CEO replied to Sparks, commenting that an HVAC system is especially important in places like Austin, which have “next-level amount[s] of pollen in the air.” 

In a 2020 earnings call, Elon Musk elaborated on Tesla’s plan to enter the residential and/or commercial HVAC market. He expressed excitement about developing an HVAC system with hospital-grade particle filtration. Musk pointed out that Tesla already achieved such a system in its Model S and Model X cars. Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zachary J. Kirkhorn added that the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles have MERV 16 or 15 capable filtration.

“So taking all those things that we’ve learned and applying it to how may HVAC would be, and commercial HVAC would be just very exciting. And then if you’re condensing water, like why not also have a few water source, if you have water, you possibly could then heat the water and have a water heater as well,” concluded Elon Musk. 

In late Q4 2021, Musk hinted at Tesla developing an HVAC, energy storage, solar, and hot water package for homeowners. 

Lars Moravy, the VP of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla, noted that integrating those systems in a house is not different from doing it in a vehicle. And Senior VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, Drew Baglino, pointed out that integrating those systems in a car is more complicated. 

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“But, you know, obviously, those systems are all just disparate, and what we’ve been doing with Powerwall and charging solar is integrating them more and more. The next logical step is obviously HVAC and water and heating. So we will do that and we will integrate it probably better than anyone has. But, as you said, we have a lot of stuff on our plate,” said Moravy. 

Currently, the company is working on many projects, including the Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, and Optimus. Plus, Tesla is still ramping production in Giga Berlin and Giga Texas. Meanwhile, Tesla Energy is working on filling Megapack orders and the new Megapack factory. It is unknown when Tesla will officially unveil an HVAC system. 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

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