Tesla has quietly removed references to the Tesla 10 kWh Powerwall for residential backup from the company’s website leaving the daily-use 7 kWh Powerwall as the remaining option.
A Tesla spokesperson tells Greentech Media via email, “The Daily Powerwall supports daily use applications like solar self-consumption plus backup power applications, and can offer backup simply by modifying the way it is installed in a home. Due to the interest, we have decided to focus entirely on building and deploying the 7-kilowatt-hour Daily Powerwall at this time.”
The 10 kWh option was promoted as a backup power supply that could be used in lieu of a generator. It was designed to have a lifespan of 500 cycles and cost $3,500. These numbers don’t work out to be of much value considering modern backup generators cost far less.
The economics for the smaller, daily use Powerwall only make sense in certain markets, particularly those where the cost of electricity from the grid is especially high, such as in Hawaii and Germany. “So it comes down to the question of customer adoption of a relatively new technology for only slightly improved economics,” said Manghani. “This doesn't mean residential customers are not deploying energy storage," but he noted those customers usually fell into the early adopter category.
What's next for Tesla in the residential energy storage market? Elon Musk offered a few hints while speaking to an audience at Tesla Paris earlier this year . "We've got the Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack, which we have a lot of trials underway right now around the world. We've seen very good results. We'll be coming out with version two of the Powerwall probably around July, August this year, which will see [a] further step-change in capabilities."
The overwhelming worldwide response to home energy storage for daily use, especially when Powerwall was first introduced, and now the discontinuation of Powerwall 10 kWh, are all good indicators that Tesla Energy is listening and will continue to revamp its product line to meet consumer wants.