BuzzFeed managed to get its hands on a note from Jeffrey Evanson, Tesla’s VP of investor relations, which mentioned that the company “will introduce the Tesla home battery and a very large utility scale battery,” adding that “we will explain the advantages of our solutions and why past battery options were not compelling.”
Or course, this news doesn’t come as a shock, as previous statements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated that the company planned to unveil something other than a car. During an earnings conference in February, he stated, “we are going to unveil the Tesla home battery, the consumer battery that would be for use in people’s houses or businesses fairly soon,” adding that the design was already finished, and that production was going to begin “in about six months or so.”
A few months later, he tweeted the following:
Major new Tesla product line — not a car — will be unveiled at our Hawthorne Design Studio on Thurs 8pm, April 30
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2015
So, after yesterday’s leaked email, it’s fair to say that the cat is officially out of the bag.
Details on the Tesla home battery are relatively scarce at this point, but there’s a good chance that the technology will build on the concepts behind existing home batteries, which are often used to store excess solar power and provide backups during outages.
All will be revealed on April 30, so be sure to check back for updates in about a week.
