Tesla: Fusing the Electric Car & Energy Industries Into One?

As a clear sign that they want to lead the merging of the electric car and green energy industries, Tesla have conducted a survey, as reported by PV Magazine, to determine interest in a Tesla combined car and home “energy package”.

With revenue of $24.6 billion and EV deliveries of 1 million worldwide as of April 2020, Tesla intends to roll out its new service to German EV consumers if it gets the green light. The breakdown of the package includes: Tesla scheduling charging times to take advantage of cheaper tariffs, advising customers when to switch to another cheaper energy company, providing Tesla Wall Connector EV charging units, Tesla Powerwalls, Tesla Solar panels, Tesla Wall Connector EV charge unit, a Tesla Powerwall, and Tesla solar panels.

Potential clients were asked what sort of electricity payment model they would prefer, including a day-ahead hourly-variable price per kilowatt-hour. Tesla would require customers to sign over control of EV charging in exchange for grid balancing benefits such as off-peak electricity pricing. The questionnaire asked:

Tesla: Suppose your car is charged every morning to meet your daily needs. Under what conditions would you allow Tesla to control the charging time of your car so that it is charged for your daily needs and to offer you a cheaper electricity tariff?

Customer answer :

1- If there is a clear financial advantage for me

2- If there are other advantages such as free or cheaper charging at home or on public charging stations

3- If it helps to increase the share of renewable energies in the energy mix.

Tesla’s move sideways from the automotive market into green energy is not surprising as it bought SolarCity (solar battery energy provider) in 2016. In early May British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported the company applied for a power supply license from the national regulatory authority to allow for future automated electricity trading.

As PV Magazine commented in their report; “with Tesla customers renowned for brand loyalty, it could represent serious competition for current (clean energy) players in the field.”

Tesla enjoys the highest brand loyalty in the automotive market (80.5%). That’s a lot of Tesla owners jumping ship from German energy companies.