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Tesla Energy is quietly setting its sights on peaker plants

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Behind the spotlights trained on the Model 3 production ramp and Elon Musk’s online behavior, Tesla’s Energy business is quietly growing and spreading its reach. Tesla notes that its deployment of stationary batteries, which are designed to supply electricity to residential homes, businesses, and even the power grid, surged 450% in the first six months of 2018 alone. These figures are well in line with Elon Musk’s statement during the Q2 2018 earnings call, when he noted that Tesla Energy is growing at such a pace that it would likely catch up and exceed the company’s electric car business in the future.

During the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk announced that Tesla managed to hit a milestone of installing 1 GWh of energy storage to projects worldwide. This is only the beginning, though, as the company is aiming to double its battery storage installations within the next 12 months. Just like its electric cars like the Model 3, Tesla’s energy products like the Powerwall 2 home battery system are seeing overwhelming demand from customers — so much so that installations for the products are quite delayed. In Tesla’s website alone, the company notes that new Powerwall 2 orders would likely not be filled until “late 2018” at the earliest.

Despite the company currently being unable to meet production, Tesla CTO JB Straubel noted in a recent statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that Tesla’s battery production would likely catch up early next year. Straubel stated that while Tesla is scaling production as fast as it could, there are still delays as the demand for the residential market continues to be larger than expected. Demand from utility providers has remained strong as well. Back in June, for example, the company landed a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to install its industrial-grade Powerpack batteries to store 730 MWh of electricity in Moss Landing; and that’s just one of several high-profile projects that the company is engaged in. 

Tesla’s Powerpack farm in South Australia.

Tesla’s energy storage solutions are starting become more and more accepted by utility companies, particularly since battery technology has reached a point where it now has the potential to replace inefficient and dirty “Peaker” power plants, which are powered on when the demand for electricity is at its highest. Straubel believes that battery solutions such as those offered by Tesla Energy are poised to outcompete conventional peaker plants.

“I think what we’ll see is we won’t build many new peaker plants, if any. Already what we’re seeing happening is the number of new ones being commissioned is drastically lower, and batteries are already outcompeting natural gas peaker plants,” Straubel said.

Tesla Energy’s initiative to eventually replace peaker power plants is very similar to the company’s efforts to render fossil fuel-powered automobiles obsolete. Elon Musk is known to have said that Tesla will not stop “until every car on the road is electric.” Considering the CTO’s recent statements, it appears that Tesla Energy would likely not stop until all backup power plants are powered by renewable energy as well.

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Tesla will actually be doing the world a favor if its Energy business ends up helping in the transition of the power industry away from peaker plants. Peaker plants, after all, are responsible for a lot of pollution. A case study of the facilities in CA cited by the Clean Energy Group noted that peaker plants emit roughly 30% more carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour than natural gas combined-cycle plants, which are increasingly being used as base load plants. The case study also noted that 84% of peaker plants are located in areas that are vulnerable to environmental damage. On top of this, peaker plants are actually quite costly for consumers, considering that they are utilized when demand for electricity is at its highest. 

A peaker power plant. [Credit: Collective Evolution]

Tesla Energy’s goal of eventually replacing peaker plants might be ambitious, but it is not impossible, especially since the United States’ energy storage business has been seeing growth over the past years. A study from GTM Research, for one, estimates that the sales of energy storage for both residential and utility markets in the US would likely hit $541 million this year, before passing $1 billion in 2019, and hitting $4.6 billion in 2023. If Tesla can ramp its energy business within the coming years, the company could position itself strategically in what could very well be an upcoming energy gold rush.

Tesla’s energy business usually takes a back seat to the company’s electric car division, but the updates that the company has teased regarding its battery technology are very encouraging. During the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, for one, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla is now aiming to hit a cost of $100 per kWh at the pack level.

“We think at the cell level probably we can do better than $100/kWh maybe later this year depending upon stable commodity prices. With further improvements to the cell chemistry, the production process, and more vertical integration on the cell side, for example, integrating the production of cathode and anode materials at the Gigafactory, and improved design of the module and pack, we think long-term we can get below $100/kWh at the pack level,” he said.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Energy is the world’s top global battery storage system provider again

Tesla Energy captured 15% of the battery storage segment’s global market share in 2024.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy held its top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year, capturing 15% of global market share in 2024, as per Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings.

Tesla Energy’s lead, however, is shrinking, as Chinese competitors like Sungrow are steadily increasing their global footprint, particularly in European markets.

Tesla Energy dominates in North America, but its lead is narrowing globally

Tesla Energy retained its leadership in the North American market with a commanding 39% share in 2024. Sungrow, though still ranked second in the region, saw its share drop from 17% to 10%. Powin took third place, even if the company itself filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, as noted in a Solar Power World report. 

On the global stage, Tesla Energy’s lead over Sungrow shrank from four points in 2023 to just one in 2024, indicating intensifying competition. Chinese firm CRRC came in third worldwide with an 8% share.

Wood Mackenzie ranked vendors based on MWh shipments with recognized revenue in 2024. According to analyst Kevin Shang, “Competition among established BESS integrators remains incredibly intense. Seven of the top 10 vendors last year struggled to expand their market share, remaining either unchanged or declining.”

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Chinese integrators surge in Europe, falter in U.S.

China’s influence on the BESS market continues to grow, with seven of the global top 10 BESS integrators now headquartered in the country. Chinese companies saw a 67% year-over-year increase in European market share, and four of the top 10 BESS vendors in Europe are now based in China. In contrast, Chinese companies’ market share in North America dropped more than 30%, from 23% to 16% amid Tesla Energy’s momentum and the Trump administration’s policies.

Wood Mackenzie noted that success in the global BESS space will hinge on companies’ ability to adapt to divergent regulations and geopolitical headwinds. “The global BESS integrator landscape is becoming increasingly complex, with regional trade policies and geopolitical tensions reshaping competitive dynamics,” Shang noted, pointing to Tesla’s maintained lead and the rapid ascent of Chinese rivals as signs of a shifting industry balance.

“While Tesla maintains its global leadership, the rapid rise of Chinese integrators in Europe and their dominance in emerging markets like the Middle East signals a fundamental shift in the industry. Success will increasingly depend on companies’ ability to navigate diverse regulatory environments, adapt to local market requirements, and maintain competitive cost structures across multiple regions,” the analyst added.

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Energy

Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure

Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.

Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.

Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage

It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.

LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.

The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.

For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.

During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”

It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.

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Energy

Tesla Shanghai Megafactory produces 1,000th Megapack for export to Europe

The Shanghai Megafactory was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the Megapack. 

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla Energy has announced a fresh milestone for its newest Megapack factory. As per the electric vehicle maker, the Shanghai Megafactory has successfully produced its 1,000th Megapack battery. 

The facility was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the grid-scale battery system. 

New Tesla Megapack Milestone

As per Tesla Asia in a post on its official accounts on social media platform X, the 1,000th Megapack unit that was produced at the Shanghai Megafactory would be exported to Europe. As noted in a CNEV Post report, Tesla’s energy products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions globally. This allows Tesla Energy to compete in energy markets that are both emerging and mature.

To commemorate the 1,000th Megapack produced at the Shanghai Megafactory, the Tesla China team posted with the grid-scale battery with celebratory balloons that spelled “Megapack 1000.” The milestone was celebrated by Tesla enthusiasts on social media, especially since the Shanghai Megafactory only started its operations earlier this year.

Quick Megafactory Ramp

The Shanghai Megafactory, similar to Tesla’s other key facilities in China, was constructed quickly. The facility started its construction on May 23, 2024, and it was hailed as Tesla’s first entry storage project outside the United States. Less than a year later, on February 11, 2025, the Shanghai Megafactory officially started producing Megapack batteries. And by March 21, 2025, Tesla China noted that it had shipped the first batch of Megapack batteries from the Shanghai plant to foreign markets.

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While the Shanghai Megafactory is still not at the same level of output as Tesla’s Lathrop Megafactory, which produces about 10,000 Megapacks per year, its ramp seems to be quite steady and quick. It would then not be surprising if Tesla China announces the Shanghai Megafactory’s 2,000th Megapack milestone in the coming months.

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