Tesla has officially opened orders for its next-generation Powerwall 3 battery on its website, after the company spent much of last year quietly deploying the new hardware.
You can now order a Powerwall 3 from Tesla directly through its website in the U.S., offering updated specs from the previous generation Powerwall 2. Tesla listed the specs for the updated energy storage hardware on its website in September, and it also caught the attention of CEO Elon Musk, who commented on the generation’s improvements after some Powerwall 3 installations had already been spotted.
At the time of writing, the Powerwall 3 doesn’t appear to be available in other North American markets, Canada and Mexico, nor does it appear to be available in Europe or Asia.
PW3 is optimized for ease of installation & high power, which means that a single Powerwall can serve as an uninterruptible power supply for most homes.
This is a big deal for ensuring that the lights stay on and you can power all your devices in the event of a power outage.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 8, 2023
Still, this is the first time that it’s been possible to purchase a Powerwall 3 through the Tesla website, and it appears you can no longer purchase a Powerwall 2. Tesla also made some price cuts to the Powerwall 2 in late September, seemingly indicating that the company was preparing for the product’s official launch.
The major difference from the Powerwall 2 are that the Powerwall 3 includes a built-in solar inverter and system controller, which the previous generation did not. In addition, Tesla says the Powerwall 3 is scalable up to four units, while the Powerwall 2 is scalable up to 10 units, potentially making it a better option for large-scale commercial projects that may or may not also require the built-in solar inverter. Musk also highlighted the peak power capacity of the Powerwall 3 as a major selling point for the new generation energy storage equipment in a recent post.
What matters most about Powerwall 3 is that it can handle peak power of ~30kW, which is enough to handle dryers & air-conditioners.
This means that a single Powerwall is now enough for most homes. https://t.co/UOKkkpVJCT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2024
Users who have Powerwalls often report significant savings on utilities bills and the ability to keep the lights on during outages and other times of peak electricity demand. In some areas, solar and Powerwall owners can also participate in Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) pilot programs, which essentially let you create massive, distributed batteries with other Powerwall owners to sell electricity back to the grid during peak-demand periods.
You can see the specs for the Powerwall 3 and last-generation Powerwall 2 below, as can be found on Tesla’s website.
Powerwall 3 |
Powerwall 2 |
|
|
Energy Capacity
|
13.5 kWh
|
13.5 kWh*
|
| On-Grid Power
|
11.5 kW continuous
|
5 kW continuous
|
| Backup Power
|
11.5 kW continuous 185 LRA motor start Seamless backup transition |
7 kW peak 106A LRA motor start Seamless backup transition |
| Scalable
|
Up to 4 units
|
Up to 10 units
|
| Inverter
|
Solar-to-grid efficiency 97.5% 6 solar inputs with Maximum Power Point Trackers |
not included
|
| Size and Weight
|
43.25 in x 24 in x 7.6 in 287 lbs |
45.3 in x 29.6 in x 5.75 in 251.3 lbs |
| Installation
|
Integrated inverter and system controller -4°F to 122°F Flood and dust resistance^ |
Floor or wall mounted Indoor or outdoor -4°F to 122°F |
| Warranty
|
10 years
|
10 years
|
| Notes:
|
^Flood resistant to over 2 ft.
|
*See Powerwall 2 Technical Specifications for more details
|
|
|
Updated 2/17/24: Added CEO Elon Musk’s post on X following the announcement.
Tesla’s California Virtual Power Plant has quietly ramped to an estimated 5.7k homes
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
The Tesla Semi is entering a new Pilot Program with Paper Transport, LLC (PTI), a Wisconsin-based transportation provider. The company will test the Semi’s Long Range configuration through “dedicated operations within the Chicago market.”
Chicago presents an interesting challenge for the Semi, as it will be a colder-weather climate that will test the Semi’s ability to operate in lower temperatures and in potentially large accumulations of snow. This is something Tesla has been testing with the Semi in Alaska and even in Northern California during the colder months, but Chicago will present a truly tough midwestern winter.
Tesla Semi spotted on journey home after winter performance testing
PTI says it is using the Semi to evaluate its strategy of reducing transportation emissions while maintaining performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. These are major arguments for the Semi being introduced into new fleets.
CEO of PTI Tyler Ellison said:
“PTI has been a leader in sustainable transportation solutions for over 15 years. We take a consultative approach to helping customers identify and implement the right transportation solution for their network. Our partnership with Tesla expands our portfolio alongside renewable natural gas and intermodal, giving customers more ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions without compromising service or economics.”
PTI is far from the first company to adopt the Semi within a fleet, as Tesla entered strategic agreements with PepsiCo. and its subsidiary Frito-Lay for a Pilot Program that extended throughout the California region.
Tesla has let companies like those utilize the Semi to determine whether it would be suitable for their operations. Additionally, Tesla gets valuable information regarding the Semi’s performance, knowing what to improve and what is ideal for companies that will utilize the all-electric truck for regional and nationwide logistics.
PTI plans to utilize the Long Range configuration, which is priced at $290,000 and features a range of approximately 500 miles, a three-motor powertrain, up to 800 kW of drive power, and consumption of just 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels
VP of Maintenance at PTI, Bryan Ellen, added:
“We are excited to partner with Tesla, leveraging their ever-evolving technology. We are bullish in our estimation of the parallels available between our dedicated model and the efficiency of their fully electric Class 8 tractor. We anticipate a growing synergy between our businesses as we work to facilitate this sustainable solution for our customers.”
PTI has logged more than 87 million miles using sources like compressed and renewable gas, but now is looking to take it a step further with fully electric operations.
Tesla revealed on Monday that it is building a new autonomous vehicle at Gigafactory Texas, its plant just outside of the City of Austin. This particular vehicle will be geared toward those who are in need of a wheelchair-accessible car that would require no human driver for operation.
According to a new report from Wired, Tesla’s Senior Policy Advisor, India Herdman, told members of the Washington D.C. City Council on Monday:
“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas.”
This builds upon what CEO Elon Musk said last year on X, which confirmed the company was working on accessible rides within its Robotaxi platform, which currently is confined to the Model Y.
Absolutely
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2025
Tesla is also developing the Cybercab, which started employee rides last week. However, this vehicle is not necessarily geared toward wheelchair accessibility.
That leaves a major gap in the autonomous ride-sharing program that Tesla is attempting to build; the company has been pretty clear that it does not want to complicate its manufacturing lines by bringing in a wide array of body styles.
However, it seems necessary to have something larger that could help transport people to appointments when they cannot drive. For wheelchair accessibility, the Robovan, which was unveiled at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024, seems to be the most ideal solution:
Herdman did not indicate whether she was referring to the Robovan or if Tesla is building yet another body style that is geared toward full autonomy but also caters to the handicapped.
Tesla might need to develop something specifically for the handicapped in order to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in transportation services. Uber was hit with a lawsuit late last year for “refusing to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities.”
Tesla would obviously like to avoid this.
It will be interesting to see what Tesla will do with this project, and whether it will introduce something new to the market or just continue with the Robovan.
Tesla weirdly confirmed that its steering wheel-less and pedal-less Cybercab vehicle is now in the process of giving employees rides, a huge milestone for the vehicle program.
But the entire thing was super strange. On Friday, Tesla released a video stating that there was “Cool news from Giga Texas” and that employees were now taking rides in Cybercabs that have no manual controls. The units seen on public roads are engineering vehicles that have manual controls inside, a necessity as Tesla moved through the testing phase.
However, Tesla removed the video and reposted it shortly after with a more vague title. It seems like the employee rides are still going, but the video was adjusted slightly. The initial upload showed employees doing things like watching movies and adjusting the climate, but these snippets were removed in the second upload.
Cool news from Giga Texas pic.twitter.com/gvbG456Tzw
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) July 11, 2026
Both images below were uploaded with the first video, but were removed after Tesla re-uploaded the announcement. These are not available in the second upload
Credit: Tesla
Credit: Tesla
Nevertheless, the announcement from Tesla is that the Cybercab is operating with employees inside who can control the vehicle’s audio, video, climate, and destination settings through their smartphone app.
Tesla has already been testing Cybercab engineering units, but last month, it was able to self-certify for SAE Level 4, which would enable unsupervised self-driving in Texas. The company is moving toward that, and the plans have always been to launch Cybercab rides this year.
The Cybercab is potentially looked at as the next generation of Tesla’s mobility leg. For the past 15 years, the company has been known as somewhat of an automaker, among many other things. However, these passenger vehicles that Tesla has manufactured are now moving into a new realm, as they will eventually drive themselves with no supervision thanks to the Full Self-Driving suite.
The Cybercab is just the next step of that: a true vehicle developed for the sole purpose of ride-hailing. It has no human controls, it has only two seats, and it will get passengers from Point A to Point B with no awkward driver, no need for manual inputs, and with no stress.
Tesla is moving forward with other developments related to the Cybercab project as well. However, the big announcement will come when Tesla finally announces that it is launching Cybercab rides to the general public, something that it plans to launch either late this year or early 2027.
Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge
Tesla is building a wheelchair-accessible Robotaxi
