In what was the company’s most information-rich results call in quite some time, Tesla revealed last night that the company recovered from record-low solar installations in Q2 of 2019, getting back on track and confirming big developments to come.
The real wow factor from the call? Tesla shared that it installed 477 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage in Q3, the most in the company’s history. That figure edges out the previous record mark of 415 MWh of storage, set in Q2 2019, with Q3 representing 15% growth. The year-over-year mark is the really impressive one, as 477 MWh represents 99% growth over the 240 MWh installed in Q3 2018.
In a display of confidence, Tesla hopes to grow on those storage figures in Q4, with the introduction of the Tesla Megapack, a 3 MWh, single-unit battery pack, preassembled at the Gigafactory. The first deliveries are planned to begin in Q4 2019, which should lead to a considerable base of the quarter’s deployment.
The re-established track Tesla is on comes from the deployment of 43 MW of solar in Q3 2019, up 48% from the paltry 29 MW the previous quarter. And while this number is a show of improvement, it’s still less than stellar when compared to historical deployment, even in just the last calendar year. In Q3 2018, the company deployed 93 MW, the high point of the year, with that number decreasing to 73 MW in Q4 and 47 MW in Q1 2019, which takes us to the aforementioned figures. It’s an important rebound in the same way that a 7-foot NBA center getting his 6th in the 4th quarter is. It’s an accomplishment, but given the size, shouldn’t it be more impressive?
What is impressive, however, is that the company confirmed rumors of the launch of a new version of its solar roof tiles, Solar Roof V3, with an expedited debut. The tiles will be unveiled at a new event this afternoon, according to CEO Elon Musk. Hopes are high for the product, which Musk promised would reach a production load of 1,000 roofs a week by the end of the year.
To round out the records set this quarter, Tesla delivered 97,000 vehicles in Q3, edging out the previous record of 95,000 set in Q2 2019. The company also shared that work at the Gigafactory is ahead of schedule, as is development of
the company’s newest car, the Model Y, with production expected by summer 2020.
Thus rounds out what proved to be a strong quarter for the most dramatic company in energy, one marked by growth in the three phases of solar, storage and EV for the first time in a year, which is no small feat.
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“In a display of confidence, Tesla hopes to grow on those storage figures in Q4, with the introduction of the Tesla Megapack, a 3 MWh, single-unit battery pack, preassembled at the Gigafactory. The first deliveries are planned to begin in Q4 2019, which should lead to a considerable base of the quarter’s deployment.”
On the TESLA site, it touts the Megapack as a 250MW/1GWh energy storage system installed on three acres in three months. There are a lot of old coal fired plants or natural gas plants that could be replaced with such a storage system, constructed strategically along the grid. Musk claims this is “now”, or is it just hyperbole and another three year wait for the manufacturing to catch up to the claim?
Was the Hornsdale battery in South Australia hyperbole?
The manufacturing continues to ramp, as do the deployments.