Tesla's Powerwall is already sold out through middle of 2016

[bananas]

Source: Engadget

On Tesla's quarterly earnings call, CEO Elon Musk announced "crazy off the hook" demand for its just-announced Powerwall battery product. He said over 38,000 reservations have been received, which should take up the expected production through mid-2016, and demand is high enough to account for all of the Gigafactory's production if they devoted it just to stationary batteries. That includes some 2,500 companies that are interested in the commercial-ready Powerpack (with orders averaging around 10 units each), and Musk said he estimates that commercial interest in Tesla Energy will account for 5-10 more megawatt hours than residential. To clear up one question about the Powerwall, he mentioned that while it doesn't have a DC-to-AC inverter included, it does have a DC-to-DC unit built in.

As far as Tesla's car business, Musk targeted the gullwing door-equipped Model X SUV for Q3 of this year. Apparently he rode in the latest prototype just today and called it "the best SUV." Those self-driving autopilot features are promised for Q2 and "complete battery manufacturing" at the Gigafactory is on schedule for next year. The Model 3 is tentatively scheduled to make its debut in March next year with production starting in late 2017, and as for a possible competitor from Apple, Musk said "it would be great" if the company got into the car business.

Read more: http://www.engadget.com/2015/05/06/tesla-powerwall-earnings/

[bananas]

1. Tesla plans to unveil its $35,000 Model 3 in March 2016

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/6/8562127/tesla-plans-to-unveil-its-35000-model-3-in-march-2016

Tesla plans to unveil its $35,000 Model 3 in March 2016

Production will ramp up in "late 2017"

By Chris Welch on May 6, 2015 06:53 pm
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Tesla is aiming to reveal the Model 3, its answer to BMW's 3-series, in March 2016. CEO Elon Musk announced the target date during today's call with Tesla investors. "We are hoping to show the Model 3 in March of next year," he said. Musk emphasized that the date is tentative and plans could change in the months ahead. But right now, that's the goal. Production of the Model 3, which will be able to drive 200 miles on a single charge, would start in mid or late 2017. "Late 2017 is probably more realistic," Musk added. It's been rumored that Tesla is targeting a price around $35,000.

The Model 3 is set to become Tesla's mainstream vehicle, with the Model S and Model X retaining their higher price points, superior range, and more luxurious features. The Model 3, which will be 20 percent smaller than the Model S, is a crucial project for the company as it looks to make its own electric vehicles more affordable and attainable for a much larger audience of car shoppers.

But first comes the Model X, which has been in production for some time and is finally nearing availability. Musk said that the company will begin accepting online customization orders in July. "This is really a great car. I mean, because it has such a low center of mass, it handles like a sports car even though it's an SUV," Musk said. "The performance is just surreal. Nothing else is comparable." Tesla had a decent first quarter, posting a smaller net loss than Wall Street had expected and announcing 10,045 Model S deliveries.

[KeepItReal]

2. Tesla Model III... 2017...the waiting...

[moniss]

3. The Elon scams continue

I really wish some of the more engineering educated members would weigh in on these Tesla "Miracles". They are rather mundane shifts of what already exists along with a marketing campaign that is loaded with snake oil style claims. I'm sure I'll get bombarded by the worshippers of Musk but going 100 miles or 200 miles on a charge is not the really technically difficult part. You can add as many cells to the battery pack as it takes to achieve this. No big deal. The issue is battery life. The Volt as an example has an expected battery life of around 8 years or more. The battery pack is never really fully charged or discharged but operates in a range that gives a long life because of the expense of the replacement. Chevrolet could alter the parameters to greatly increase the range but the pack life is shortened considerably. I have been on this subject since the 70's. People have always come up with lead-acid battery powered vehicles that they claimed great mileage for as an example. Problem was that the batteries can't last through very many charge/recharge cycles amongst other issues. The US Department of Energy long ago came out with testing standards for EV's for operating conditions etc. These were always the downfall of these backyard geniuses who claimed their kid had invented a car that got 200 miles on a charge with only lead acid batteries. So the point is that even if somebody says 200 miles and gives it to you there will be trade-offs that Musk and others don't tell you about. If he says they will warranty the battery pack 8 years or 10 or whatever we don't know what his company will really do about honoring those claims since we are nowhere close to that timeframe from when they started in service. The Powerwall accomplishes nothing that is not already available although Musk claims he has made huge breakthroughs. Buried in the hoopla from him was the admission that the Powerwall would not have much more capacity than would keep a refrigerator running for a few hours. I simply don't like the way Musk presents these things to the public in his half truth/half PT Barnum way. It reminds me of Intel and Micro-shaft in the 90's.

[Lodestar]

4. I'm NOT an "engineering-educated member", so thanks for explaining this in more depth..n/t

[FarrenH]

5. Not sure I agree about Tesla's cars

Which, existing technology or not, put it together in such a way that innumerable reviewers call them the best EVs on the road and "revolutionary". The fast-charging apparently beats other options out there. Dozens of motoring publications made the model S their car of the year - not electric car of the year - car of the year.

But I'm a little confused about what the Powerwall is achieving. It probably has a charging speed advantage, but it boasts a capacity that is apparently around 1/6th of average daily consumption for American homes. The solar/powerwall coupling, assuming that you're both directly powering a house when you can and powering it from the powerwall at night on most days, would still demand four to five powerwalls to ensure consistent provision off grid.

But they have poured a lot of work into this and I can't help thinking they must be offering *some* advantage over using conventional storage, even if the advantage is small when the numbers are crunched (the above are thumb sucks from conversations with engineering friends). I expect faster charging and longer lifespan at similar cost are among them.

The huge difference between Musk and, say, Jobs' product evangelism is that Musk appears genuinely committed to goals that are much broader than the company's commercial goals, which is why they've opened their patents to other manufacturers. This guy genuinely wants to save the world from global warming and the environmental degradation of fossil fuels, while securing long term energy sustainability. He genuinely cares about humanity, not just Tesla's bottom line.

His efforts in space are also predicated on the long term plan of establishing permanent human settlements off world to secure the survival of our species and many of the other species that form our ecosystem. It's a 100% given that we will face another great extinction event, whether due to being in the path of a gamma-ray burst from a nearby dying star, a massive meteor or any one of the other cosmic events beyond our control that caused the other 5 great extinctions in earth's history.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

6. Musk has almost gone bankrupt several times to support Tesla and SpaceX.

He puts his money where his mind is.

[sendero]

7. I hear ya...

.... as far as I am concerned the "PowerWall" is a pig in a poke. I can find almost NO technical specifications that I would have to have to even consider buying such a product.

It's a pack of Lithium-ion cells. That is all. It is not some great innovation. Now, this battery pack may be "better" than a comparably priced lead-acid array, but without a LOT more information who could tell?

Pig in a poke.

Someday and maybe within a decade or so there will be a REAL innovation in battery technology. This isn't it.