Energy
Tesla Powerwall advocates fight proposed ban on in-home lithium ion battery storage systems in Australia
Battery storage systems are exceedingly popular in Australia, which has some of the highest energy costs in the world. Battery storage systems like the Tesla Powerwall are seen as the answer to high electricity costs when coupled with a rooftop solar installation. There are currently 1.6 million homes in Australia with rooftop solar and the majority of those home owners say they are interested in adding battery storage to help them reduce the amount of electricity they draw from the grid.
On February 13, a report leaked in the Australian press saying that Standards Australia, a non-governmental group similar to Underwriters Laboratories, was about to recommend that any storage devices using lithium ion cells not be installed inside homes but rather in free standing kiosks or bunkers added to the exterior of buildings.
According to Australia’s RenewEconomy, the new standard would add thousands of dollars to the price of a complete solar power system and imperil what is considered to be a multi-billion dollar business opportunity. Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes there could be as many as 6 million residential storage battery installations in Australia in the next 15 years.
The leaked report created a whirlwind of protest. No other country has such restrictions on storage battery installations. John Grimes, head of the Australian Solar Council, says that other countries like Japan and the United States do not have bans on lithium ion storage batteries in homes. He adds that there are already 30,000 such devices in Germany, where lithium ion devices are banned only in sleeping areas.
Apparently Standards Australia grew concerned when reports surfaced that the Samsung Galaxy Note had a disturbing tendency to burst into flames. That device has now been banned from all commercial aircraft whether in carry on or checked luggage.
The proposed rules could have a devastating effect on a virtual power plant program being promoted by AGL Energy in South Australia. That concept would link up to 1000 home solar systems together with a sophisticated digital control network designed to manage each system remotely and maximize the efficiency of the entire microgrid.
Australia is ripe for solar power development because of the abundance of sunshine it receives every day. In fact, there is already a planned community near Melbourne, Australia that has been dubbed Tesla Town because every house has a rooftop solar system mated to a Tesla Powerwall storage battery. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is one of those Australians who has a 14.5 kW rooftop solar and battery storage system installed at his home.
Suburb dubbed “Tesla town” in Australia will have solar, Tesla’s Powerwall and EV charging in every home.
Some people have expressed concerns that owners of electric cars with lithium ion batteries such as the Tesla Model S and Model X might be prevented from parking their cars in their garages if the Standards Australia rules are adopted.
LG Chem and Tesla are the two leading storage battery suppliers in Australia. Both use lithium ion battery cells, as do the products from Sony, GCL, BYD, Panasonic and Samsung. Companies that offer storage batteries that do not use lithium ion cells include Sonnenbatterie and Enphase (lithium iron phosphate batteries), Astralia’s Redflow (zinc bromine flow batteries), Ecoult (lead acid batteries), and Aquion, which uses ionically charged water molecules as its storage medium.
The storm of complaints has forced Standards Australia to rethink its position even before its new rules were officially announced. On February 14, it released a statement denying it is proposing a ban on lithium ion batteries in homes. It said that the public discussion period for its proposed rules would now begin in April instead of later this month and would extend for 9 weeks instead of the usual 6.
“Standards Australia is working with stakeholders to develop a new draft Australian Standard AS/NZS 5139, Electrical Installations –Safety of battery systems for use in inverter energy systems that will enable the safe installation of battery energy storage systems,” the organization said in a statement. “It is proposed that the draft document will contain provisions for:
- Installation requirements for all battery systems connected to inverter energy systems, covering all battery types
- Mitigating hazards associated with battery energy storage system installations
- Classifying batteries based on hazards, and not chemistry type
Those are reasonable and sensible proposals, considering that Australia currently has no national standards governing the installation of residential solar systems, which leaves consumers open to shoddy work by poorly trained contractors. The best defense against charlatans is to let Tesla manage the entire process. It uses only trained, certified installers and stands behind each installation with its reputation for quality and customer service.
Interested in solar? Get a solar cost estimate and find out how much a solar system would cost for your home or business.
Energy
Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone
The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments.
The Tesla Lathrop Megafactory recently achieved a new milestone. As per the official Tesla Megapack account on X, the Lathrop Megafactory has produced its 15,000th Megapack 2 XL battery.
15,000 Megapack Batteries
Tesla celebrated the milestone with a photo of the Lathrop Megafactory team posing with a freshly produced Megapack battery. To commemorate the event, the team held balloons that spelled out “15,000” as they posed for the photo.
The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments. Designed for grid-scale applications, each Megapack offers 3.9 MWh of energy and 1.9 MW of power. The battery is extremely scalable, making it perfect for massive energy storage projects.
More Megafactories
The Lathrop Megafactory is Tesla’s first dedicated facility for its flagship battery storage system. It currently stands as the largest utility-scale battery factory in North America. The facility is capable of producing 10,000 Megapack batteries every year, equal to 40 GWh of clean energy storage.
Thanks to the success of the Megapack, Tesla has expanded its energy business by building and launching the Shanghai Megafactory, which is also expected to produce 40 GWh of energy storage per year. The ramp of the Shanghai Megafactory is quite impressive, with Tesla noting in its Q1 2025 Update Letter that the Shanghai Megafactory managed to produce over 100 Megapack batteries in the first quarter alone.
Tesla Energy’s Potential
During the first quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk stated that the Megapack is extremely valuable to the energy industry.
“The Megapack enables utility companies to output far more total energy than would otherwise be the case… This is a massive unlock on total energy output of any given grid over the course of a year. And utility companies are beginning to realize this and are buying in our Megapacks at scale,” Musk said.
Energy
Tesla Megapacks powers the xAI Colossus supercomputer
Tesla Megapacks step in to stabilize xAI’s Colossus supercomputer, replacing natural gas turbines. Musk’s ventures keep intertwining.
Tesla Megapack batteries will power the xAI Colossus supercomputer in Memphis to ensure power stability. The collaboration between Tesla and xAI highlights the synergy among Elon Musk’s ventures.
The artificial intelligence startup has integrated Tesla Megapacks to manage outages and demand surges, bolstering the facility’s reliability. The Greater Memphis Chamber announced that Colossus, recently connected to a new 150-megawatt electric substation, is completing its first construction phase. This transition addresses criticism from environmental justice groups over the initial use of natural gas turbines.
“The temporary natural gas turbines that were being used to power the Phase I GPUs prior to grid connection are now being demobilized and will be removed from the site over the next two months.
“About half of the operating turbines will remain operating to power Phase II GPUs of xAI until a second substation (#22) already in construction is completed and connected to the electric grid, which is planned for the Fall of 2025, at which time the remaining turbines will be relegated to a backup power role,” the Chamber stated.
xAI’s rapid development of Colossus reflects its ambition to advance AI capabilities, but the project has faced scrutiny for environmental impacts. The shift to Megapacks and grid power aims to mitigate these concerns while ensuring operational continuity.
The Megapack deployment underscores the collaboration among Musk’s companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. Tesla appears to be the common link between all of Musk’s companies. For example, The Boring Company built a tunnel in Giga, Texas. In addition, Musk has hinted at a potential collaboration between the Tesla Optimus Bot and Neuralink. And from January 2024 to February 2025, xAI invested $230 million in Megapacks, per a Tesla filing.
Tesla Energy reported a 156% year-over-year increase in Q1 2025, deploying 10.4 GWh of storage products, including Megapacks and Powerwalls. Tesla’s plans for a new Megapack factory in Waller County, Texas, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs in the area, further signal its commitment to scaling energy solutions.
As xAI leverages Tesla’s Megapacks to power Colossus, the integration showcases Musk’s interconnected business ecosystem. The supercomputer’s enhanced stability positions xAI to drive AI innovation, while Tesla’s energy solutions gain prominence, setting the stage for broader technological and economic impacts.
Energy
Tesla Energy celebrates one decade of sustainability
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.
Tesla Energy recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a dedicated video showcasing several of its milestones over the past decade.
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.
Tesla Energy Early Days
When Elon Musk launched Tesla Energy in 2015, he noted that the business is a fundamental transformation of how the world works. To start, Tesla Energy offered the Powerwall, a 7 kWh/10 kWh home battery system, and the Powerpack, a grid-capable 100 kWh battery block that is designed for scalability. A few days after the products’ launch, Musk noted that Tesla had received 38,000 reservations for the Powerwall and 2,500 reservations for the Powerpack.
Tesla Energy’s beginnings would herald its quiet growth, with the company later announcing products like the Solar Roof tile, which is yet to be ramped, and the successor to the Powerwall, the 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2. In recent years, Tesla Energy also launched its Powerwall 3 home battery and the massive Megapack, a 3.9 MWh monster of a battery unit that has become the backbone for energy storage systems across the globe.
Key Milestones
As noted by Tesla Energy in its recent video, it has now established facilities that allow the company to manufacture 20,000 units of the Megapack every year, which should help grow the 23 GWh worth of Megapacks that have already been deployed globally.
The Powerwall remains a desirable home battery as well, with more than 850,000 units installed worldwide. These translate to 12 GWh of residential entry storage delivered to date. Just like the Megapack, Tesla is also ramping its production of the Powerwall, allowing the division to grow even more.
Tesla Energy’s Role
While Tesla Energy does not catch as much headlines as the company’s electric vehicle businesses, its contributions to the company’s bottom line have been growing. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Tesla Energy deployed 10.4 GWh of energy storage products. Powerwall deployments also crossed 1 GWh in one quarter for the first time. As per Tesla in its Q1 2025 Update Letter, the gross margin for the Energy division has improved sequentially as well.
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