A building permit filed by Tesla for its electric vehicle factory in Fremont, CA has shown that the electric car maker is looking to build a structure to evaluate its long-awaited Solar Roof tiles and their installation process. The structure’s permit was issued to Tesla in July.
The description of the project is straightforward. “Construction of a test structure to evaluate Tesla Solar Roof product and installation process. Fire Sprinklers, Fire Alarm, Truss Design, and Solar Designs are deferred submittals,” Tesla wrote.
The building permit, which was initially mentioned in a CNBC report, suggests that Tesla’s development of its Solar Roof tiles, which have seen notable delays since the product was initially unveiled in October 2016, is moving forward. It should be noted that Elon Musk has remained optimistic about the solar power-generating shingles despite these delays, noting during the Model Y unveiling that 2019 will be the “Year of the Solar Roof and Powerwall.”
The delays in the Solar Roof’s rollout have weighed down the company’s energy business. As noted by Tesla in its Q2 Update Letter, the under-utilization of the solar shingles have proven detrimental to the company’s margins for the quarter. “Higher costs from temporary manufacturing under-utilization of our Solar Roof ramp have further contributed to a decrease in margins,” Tesla wrote.
For Tesla to properly ramp the Solar Roof, the company would have to increase the production of the shingles in Gigafactory 2, the company’s plant in Buffalo, NY. So far, Gigafactory 2’s operations have remained conservative, though the electric car maker’s first annual report to New York’s Empire State Development Corp. back in May has revealed that it had exceeded its 2019 jobs target for the state.
Tesla’s filings stated that the company had 632 full-time workers through the end of April, comprised of 329 employees at Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo and around 300 more across New York. The number exceeded the state’s requirement of having at least 500 employees in the state by April 30, 2019, though it is still notably far from next year’s target, which requires Tesla to employ 1,460 workers in the state, including at least 500 at Gigafactory 2. If Tesla will indeed ramp the production of the Solar Roof this year, the company would likely start hiring more employees for the facility in the near future.
Elon Musk, for his part, has remained hopeful for the Solar Roof tiles and their eventual release. In a recent update on Twitter, Musk noted that he hopes to ramp Solar Roof production to a rate of about ~1,000 per week by the end of 2019. The update promptly incited furor from the company’s skeptics, with some critics alleging that the tweet violated Musk’s updated settlement terms with the Securities and Exchange Commission that took effect last April. Despite these strong reactions, the SEC’s press office has so far declined to comment if Musk’s Twitter update violated the CEO’s settlement with the agency.
Energy
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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