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Will Tesla Install Home Solar Panels To Charge Cars? (buffalonews.com)
Earlier this week, Tesla signed a non-binding agreement to buy solar cells from a new Panasonic factory in Buffalo, New York -- but it's part of a much bigger maneuver. An anonymous Slashdot reader writes:
"If all goes to plan, Tesla will be supplying customers with the solar panels that generate electricity that could then be used to charge the battery in their Tesla car or the battery in the Tesla Powerwall home energy storage system," reports the Christian Science Monitor. The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk's SolarCity "will sell, finance and install the panels."
But the Buffalo News suggests the deal is really "aimed squarely at skeptical shareholders" who may be leary of a proposed merger between Tesla and SolarCity," which one analyst calculates will require nearly $6 billion in extra capital. Panasonic could help shoulder the costs of the Buffalo factory, while also putting a more experienced manufacturer in charge of producing high-efficiency solar modules.
The Stack reports some shareholders have actually filed a lawsuit against the merger.
But the Buffalo News suggests the deal is really "aimed squarely at skeptical shareholders" who may be leary of a proposed merger between Tesla and SolarCity," which one analyst calculates will require nearly $6 billion in extra capital. Panasonic could help shoulder the costs of the Buffalo factory, while also putting a more experienced manufacturer in charge of producing high-efficiency solar modules.
The Stack reports some shareholders have actually filed a lawsuit against the merger.
Well, I guess that means he has time to run a third mega corporation then. Yay!
I can buy solar panels to charge the Tesla I don't have, or charge the Powerwall I don't have, or to power my house and put electricity into the grid.
And I don't have to buy them from Tesla – there are plenty of other sellers out there.
Then yes, it wi!!
This is a great move but I don't understand why Tesla built its huge battery factory in Nevada, after the wholly-owned utility commission basically killed home solar in Nevada with fees paid to the power companies. Surely that factory could have been used as leverage.
Tesla should do something to justify their "zero emission" vehicles claim.
Will Tesla eat cheese?
What will Tesla get for Christmas?
What would Jesus do?
Sure, you could charge a powerwall and then charge your Tesla at night from that, but there would be a lot of inefficiency in addition to heavy cycling on the powerwall.
But overall it doesn't seem like a compelling sales pitch -- buy solar panels to charge the car that will be at work when the sun is shining.
Maybe the spreadsheet math works financially by offsetting daytime use vs. nighttime charging.
Leery, weary, or wary: pick one.
And then use a fucking spell-check before you submit your write-ups.
Isn't Musk the Chairman of SolarCity, which is run by his cousins and has SpaceX as a large shareholder?
What's the point of this?
Most people who charge at home, charge at night. So, without storage, solar panels don't help.
But it's not "some storage", it's lots of storage. The largest residential Powerwall is 10kWh, so you would need 2 1/2 of these to fully charge a Leaf. A Tesla with the smallest 60 kWh battery would require 10 of them.
If you charge every night and drive an average commute (30-40 miles/day), then I suppose one Powerwall would be sufficient.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Gas for personal transportation will be fools.
Do the math, solar on the average house won't be enough to keep the average Tesla charged for the average commute. When the entire auto industry switches to electric (and that's been accelerated by VW, Audi et al. since Dieselgate), there will be a huge extra demand for electricity and burden on the grid. Solar will sell itself.
Whether the business merge makes sense or not is purely about the contract terms. It is a good synergy market-wise, but that's not enough.
Will a PowerWall allow fast charging?
Is fast charging desirable or destructive?
How many PowerWalls are needed to fully charge your 'average' Tesla?
Irrespective, solar us a logical step with an electric car. BUT in one of the possible futures we won't have a car, garage or driveway. Indeed there won't be cars parking out the roads as the cars will be stationed/charged somewhere else and summoned on demand. In that possible future, the PowerWall would still be available for the house and grid so that future works.
Ok, I should order my solar/ PowerWall now then.
not going to happen. The maximum rating for the High Power Wall Connector is 20 kW or 80 amps at 240 volts. Your vehicle will charge from 200 to 240 volts. this unit will require 100 yards of triple stacked panels. haha
diy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RT6RTXgclo
All the Tesla Nevada Gigafactory concept design pictures show every inch of its roof covered with solar panels and yet, on all current photos I've seen, the roof is bare. Even though the factory is not yet completed, the current buildings' roof area is massive. It would be nice to see some panels installed already.
They don't. No way to shut them off. Water and electricity are a bad mix They let the homes burn down.
People with electric cars are more likely to benefit from solar panels systems since they use more electricity. Larger solar systems are cheaper per watt since you can spread some of the fixed costs over a larger number of watts. Right now SolarCity spends 60 cents a watt per solar system on marketing costs (the average installed cost per watt of the systems is $2 a watt). If Tesla can cross sell solar panel systems to Tesla car customers, they can significantly lower the marketing costs of SolarCity.
Gone will be the days of hopping in your gasoline-powered car or truck and drive cross-country or drive New York to Daytona Beach in a single bound. I've done both. In college I went with two college buddies from New York City to Reno driving round the clock in three days. I've driven three times from NYC to Daytona Beach. I've driven the twelve hours from NYC to southwest Michigan a few times. I've also driven the nine hours from NYC to Pittsburgh a lot.
But all those trips would be completely different with an all-electric vehicle. With an EV I'd be forced to stop every 200 miles (or less) and spend a few hours recharging the battery. With gasoline I drove a 1985 Toyota Corolla the 400 miles to Pittsburgh on a single tank and drove around town a full day before filling up again.
With an EV, that 1,100 mile trip to Daytona would require six multi-hour recharges, the 2,700 miles trip would require 14 multi-hour recharges and the 400 miles trip to Pittsburgh would require a mid-way stop and then another recharge once I get to Pittsburgh.
This past summer I did a lot of work-related driving to Boston and all the towns around Boston. Every week a different site. Three hours or more each way. With an EV I'd be pushing the limits of a single charge and hope I don't get stuck in traffic around Hartford or Providence (depending on the site being north or south of Boston).
I know EV is the future. I would LOVE to get a fully electric car, but until you can pop in a fully charged battery pack or fast-charge a car in less than ten minutes, I'm going to have to choose gasoline or a more expensive gas/electric hybrid for the time being.