Elon Musk announced that Tesla is well on its way to completing the world’s largest lithium ion battery in Jamestown, Australia, at a Powerpack event held at Noeon Hornsdale wind farm on September 29.
After just two months of construction, the facility is already operating at a 50 MW level. The world’s largest battery is expected to be fully operational in December 2017. Tesla said in a statement that the company partnered with Neoen, a renewable energy provider, and will complete the world’s largest battery pack within the next 100 days.
“Tesla was selected from over 90 competitive bids to provide the entire energy storage component of a 100 MW/129 MWh Powerpack System to be paired with global renewable energy provider Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, South Australia. The interconnection agreement has been approved by AEMO and has just been signed this afternoon by Electranet. Tesla and Neoen now have 100 days to complete the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world.” read the press release from Tesla.
Once fully operational, Musk said the plant will deliver 100 MW of energy to Southern Australia. In addition to the Powerpack opening event, Tesla also posted a time lapse of the construction of the facility on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZntJ7thHvq/?hl=en&taken-by=teslamotors
For Musk, who earlier in the day presented his vision for SpaceX-built Martian cities at IAC2017 in Australia, the world’s largest battery project is a precursor to what is expected to be the future of battery-powered energy sources.
“What this serves as is a great example for the rest of the world of what can be done,” Musk said. “So when this is done, which will be in just a few months, it will be the largest battery installation, by an estimated power factor of three, in the world.”
The Powerpack opening event was powered entirely by the Powerpack system, giving attendees a taste of what was possible.
“Talk is cheap, action is difficult. And the reason we worked as hard as we possibly could and got as much done as possible was to show that it’s not just talk it’s reality,” Musk said.
“Everything you see here, this whole event, everything, is powered by those packs,” he said, pointing out the window at the battery facility. “There are no generators, this is all coming from that system over there.”
Tesla’s 100 MW/129 MWh Powerpack system dubbed as the ‘World’s largest battery’ in Jamestown, Australia
The world’s largest battery was constructed after sweeping blackouts across Southern Australia. Musk tweeted that he would fix the power crisis in Southern Australia, a move he quipped about with supporters at the event.
“As you guys know, a year ago the situation was pretty dire … One tweet leads to another, and then pretty soon that,” he said, pointing again to the Powerpack facility.
For Musk and Tesla, the Hornsdale battery facility is the first step toward revolutionizing energy across the globe. Musk ended his presentation at the facility by talking about the space needed to power all of Australia with renewable energy and battery packs.
“That is what the future will look like,” Musk said in closing, “and the faster we get there, the better.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=W9CiPs8E5xQ
Energy
Tesla meets Giga New York’s Buffalo job target amid political pressures
Giga New York reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease.
Tesla has surpassed its job commitments at Giga New York in Buffalo, easing pressure from lawmakers who threatened the company with fines, subsidy clawbacks, and dealership license revocations last year.
The company reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease at the state-built facility.
As per an employment report reviewed by local media, Tesla employed 2,399 full-time workers at Gigafactory New York and 1,060 additional employees across the state at the end of 2025. Part-time roles pushed the total headcount of Tesla’s New York staff above the 3,460-job target.
The gains stemmed in part from a new Long Island service center, a Buffalo warehouse, and additional showrooms in White Plains and Staten Island. Tesla also said it has invested $350 million in supercomputing infrastructure at the site and has begun manufacturing solar panels.
Empire State Development CEO Hope Knight said the agency was “very happy” with Giga New York’s progress, as noted in a WXXI report. The current lease runs through 2029, and negotiations over updated terms have included potential adjustments to job requirements and future rent payments.
Some lawmakers remain skeptical, however. Assemblymember Pat Burke questioned whether the reported job figures have been fully verified. State Sen. Patricia Fahy has also continued to sponsor legislation that would revoke Tesla’s company-owned dealership licenses in New York. John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany has argued that the project has not delivered the manufacturing impact originally promised as well.
Knight, for her part, maintained that Empire State Development has been making the best of a difficult situation.
“(Empire State Development) has tried to make the best of a very difficult situation. There hasn’t been another use that has come forward that would replace this one, and so to the extent that we’re in this place, the fact that 2,000 families at (Giga New York) are being supported through the activity of this employer. It’s the best that we can have happen,” the CEO noted.
Energy
Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas
The initiative was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Tesla has launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program in Texas, allowing eligible Cybertruck owners to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events and receive compensation on their utility bills.
The initiative, dubbed Powershare Grid Support, was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Texas’ Cybertruck V2G program
In its post on X, Tesla Energy confirmed that vehicle-to-grid functionality is “coming soon,” starting with select Texas markets. Under the new Powershare Grid Support program, owners of the Cybertruck equipped with Powershare home backup hardware can opt in through the Tesla app and participate in short-notice grid stress events.
During these events, the Cybertruck automatically discharges excess energy back to the grid, supporting local utilities such as CenterPoint Energy and Oncor. In return, participants receive compensation in the form of bill credits. Tesla noted that the program is currently invitation-only as part of an early adopter rollout.
The launch builds on the Cybertruck’s existing Powershare capability, which allows the vehicle to provide up to 11.5 kW of power for home backup. Tesla added that the program is expected to expand to California next, with eligibility tied to utilities such as PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.
Powershare Grid Support
To participate in Texas, Cybertruck owners must live in areas served by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor, have Powershare equipment installed, enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive plan, and opt in through the Tesla app. Once enrolled, vehicles would be able to contribute power during high-demand events, helping stabilize the grid.
Tesla noted that events may occur with little notice, so participants are encouraged to keep their Cybertrucks plugged in when at home and to manage their discharge limits based on personal needs. Compensation varies depending on the electricity plan, similar to how Powerwall owners in some regions have earned substantial credits by participating in Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.
Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.
Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.
Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.
However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.
Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.
However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:
“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026.
This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.
Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.
Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:
As a Cybertruck owner who also has Powerwall, I empathize with the disappointed comments.
To their credit, the team has delivered powershare functionality to Cybertruck customers who otherwise have no backup with development of the powershare gateway. As well as those with solar…
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 12, 2025
He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”
It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.
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