Energy
Tesla is currently ‘aggressively ramping’ energy business, says CTO JB Straubel
Amid rising competition in the residential solar market from rivals such as SunRun, Tesla CTO JB Straubel stated that Tesla is ramping up its efforts to bolster its energy business. According to Straubel, the reception of the public to products like the Powerwall 2 and Solar Roof tiles has been similar to the Model 3. Thus, Tesla is now doing what it can to increase its capacity to produce its energy products as fast as it can.
Straubel’s update to Tesla’s energy business came as a statement to USA Today, which recently published an article about the residential solar market in the United States. While the Tesla CTO did not provide the actual figures of its Powerwall 2 and Solar Roof reservations, Straubel did state that for now, Tesla is unable to keep up with deposits being put down for the products. Straubel also emphasized that Tesla is not in any way stepping back from the residential energy business.
“No one should see us as stepping back from solar. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s like with Model 3. People have come flooding in and are waiting on the product. So now we’re aggressively ramping our capacity,” he said.
To address the demand for its residential products, Straubel stated that production of the Powerwall 2 is set to pick up later this year, while output for Solar Roof tiles is expected to accelerate in 2019. The Tesla CTO expects these initiatives to reduce the wait times for these energy products.
The Tesla CTO’s latest statement comes as an encouraging update to the company’s residential energy business, much of which has been under the news radar for most of the year. The first consumer installations of the Solar Roof began earlier this year, and reports emerged that Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, NY is ramping up hiring, but apart from these, Tesla’s energy initiatives appear to be focused on large-scale industrial projects, such as its upcoming Powerpack farm in Victoria, and its virtual power plant in South Australia.
Tesla’s residential energy business in the United States took a blow last month, as well, with the company closing a dozen of its solar facilities across nine states in the country as part of its restructuring. Apart from this, Tesla also announced that it would not renew its partnership with Home Depot to sell its solar solutions and Powerwall 2 home battery storage units.
Regardless of these, the progress of Tesla’s industrial energy projects is indicative of the potential of its residential initiatives. Over the past year, after all, Tesla had all but proved that its battery technology is a feasible alternative to conventional power solutions. The warm reception to its big battery in South Australia, which continues to support the region’s embattled energy grid, is a testament to this.
Considering the competition from its local competitors, Tesla would have to increase its push for its residential energy business in the United States. Solar analyst for GTM Research Allison Mond, for one, stated that Tesla could see its market share shrink in the coming quarters due to competitors and the company’s lack of focus on its solar products. Nevertheless, Straubel stated that market share is not really Tesla’s focus for its residential energy business.
“We’re focused intently on the customer experience, not on having a higher market share. We’re looking at the bigger picture,” he said.
During Tesla’s 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned that the company is getting closer to a battery breakthrough. Addressing shareholders, Musk stated that Tesla is on pace to hit a battery cell cost of $100 per kWh by the end of 2018 depending on the stability of current commodity prices. Considering Straubel’s mention of a ramp in Powerwall 2 production later this year, it seems like Tesla’s push into residential solar could happen just as the company hits a breakthrough in its battery technology.
Elon Musk
Google just picked SpaceX for its first step into orbital AI
Google will launch its first Project Suncatcher AI satellite on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare next week.
Google is about to put its own AI chips into orbit for the first time, and it is paying SpaceX to get them there.
The company said Thursday that the first in-orbit test of Project Suncatcher, its research effort to find out whether space can host large-scale AI computing, will fly next week on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission.
The satellite, called MVP, is about the size of a refrigerator and carries four of Google’s Tensor Processing Units, the same chips Google runs in its ground data centers. Google originally planned to launch two custom satellites in 2027, but chose to move faster by integrating its chips into a satellite.
MVP’s solar panels supply about one kilowatt of power, and Google will run Gemini models on the TPUs only in bursts of roughly 15 minutes before the chips shut down so the radiators can shed heat. In a blog post, Google said its Trillium TPUs survived vibration testing that mimicked sustained launch loads of up to 10g, with individual components seeing 50 to 100g, and handled a radiation dose greater than a five year mission would deliver.
SpaceX and Google mull massive partnership on Musk’s orbital data dream: report
Next week’s flight, slated for October 1, follows a relationship that became public in May, when Teslarati reported that Google was in talks with SpaceX for a launch deal tied to orbital data centers. Google also holds a stake of roughly 6% in SpaceX.
The two companies are chasing the same idea from very different starting points. SpaceX’s own orbital compute program is built around the AI1 satellite, a roughly 70 meter structure derived from Starlink V3 hardware that is designed for 150 kW of peak compute, about 150 times the power MVP will draw. Elon Musk has brushed off concerns about crowding orbit with those satellites, and SpaceX is building its Gigasat factory in Bastrop, Texas, to produce them, targeting an annualized rate of about 1 GW of space compute by the end of 2027.
Musk also posted on X on Thursday that “the amount of compute in space will obviously round up to 100% of all compute.”
Google has been more cautious in public. Its research estimates that launch prices need to fall below about $200 per kilogram before an orbital data center can compete with a ground facility on energy cost, a threshold the company believes could be reached around the mid 2030s. The Suncatcher team has said it expects the effort to remain a project rather than a product for years, which leaves the first real test of its hardware riding on a rocket from the company with the most aggressive timeline in the field.
Energy
Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected
Tesla will inaugurate its Nevada Semi factory September 24, five months after production quietly began ramping.
Tesla says it will officially inaugurate its new Semi factory in Nevada next month. The Tesla Semi account posted the announcement on X, sharing a graphic titled “Semi Rollout” with a date of September 24. No further details were given about the format of the event or who would attend.
While Tesla’s dedicated Semi plant in Sparks, adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, opened back in April, with the first trucks rolling off the high volume line on April 29, the timing for the factory inauguration comes at a surprise. The ribbon cutting event five months into production is a break from how Tesla has usually handled its other factories, where the first truck or car off the line typically served as the milestone moment.
Inauguration of new Semi factory in Nevada next month pic.twitter.com/a8kAlxrOOn
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) August 24, 2026
The 1.7 million square foot factory was built as part of a $3.6 billion expansion Tesla announced in early 2023, and it shares a site with the battery cell lines that feed the Semi’s structural pack, a decision meant to remove the supply bottleneck that delayed the truck for years. The plant is designed for 50,000 trucks a year at full ramp. Semi program director Dan Priestley has said production “is now ramping” rather than claiming it has reached scale.
Nine years passed between the Semi’s 2017 unveiling and this stage of production, with the truck slipping from an original 2019 target through hand built pilot units for PepsiCo and a slow build out of the Nevada plant. An inauguration event now gives Tesla a stage to talk up that ramp and reset expectations for how many trucks it can begin delivering at scale.
The September date also lines up with the Semi’s next milestone. Tesla confirmed the truck is heading to Europe with a full unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade show in Hannover, Germany, running September 15 through 20. Between the Nevada event and the Hannover reveal, Tesla has roughly a week and a half in September to make the case that the Semi is now a truck being built and sold on two continents rather than tested in a handful of fleets.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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Google just picked SpaceX for its first step into orbital AI
