Tesla's energy storage business was the highlight of its blowout earnings, and Elon Musk says it's 'growing like wildfire'

• Tesla reported blowout net this week, but its biggest maturation driver wasn't cars aliases robots.
• Its power business grew by complete 50% twelvemonth complete year, earning Tesla complete $7 cardinal successful gross truthful acold successful 2024.
• Elon Musk said connected Tesla's net telephone that nan power portion is "growing for illustration wildfire."

Tesla has a concealed weapon, and it's not Elon Musk's robotaxi aliases nan Optimus bot.

The institution reported blowout net connected the spot of its automotive sales connected Wednesday — but its biggest maturation area was Tesla's burgeoning business trading batteries and star panels, not electrical cars.

Revenue for Tesla's power procreation and retention business was astir $2.4 cardinal successful nan 3rd 4th of 2024, up 52% from nan aforesaid play past year.

That's a large jump compared to gross from Tesla's automotive sales, which rose by 2% complete nan aforesaid period.

The power business's gross truthful acold this twelvemonth exceeds $7 billion, meaning that it now accounts for astir 10% of Tesla's full revenue.

The conception chiefly includes Tesla's income of star panels and its Megapack and Powerwall artillery retention systems.

It typically garners little attraction than flashy but little lucrative projects for illustration Tesla's robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robots. Still, it has accelerated go a vitally important root of income for nan automaker.

The maturation of Tesla's power business was noted by Musk successful nan company's Q3 net telephone connected Wednesday, pinch nan Tesla CEO describing it arsenic a "gigantic opportunity" for nan automaker.

"The power retention business is increasing for illustration wildfire, pinch beardown request for some Megapack and Powerwall," Musk said.

The billionaire said that Tesla's Megapack mill successful Lathrop, California, had deed an important accumulation milestone of 200 units per week. Tesla also told investors that nan institution had installed a grounds number of Powerwall systems for nan 2nd 4th successful a row.

Tesla is besides building a Megapack mill successful Shanghai, which is expected to statesman wide accumulation successful nan first 4th of 2025.

Megapack is simply a commercialized artillery strategy utilized by grid providers to shop power and thief debar powerfulness outages. This is particularly important arsenic much providers move to renewable power sources that can beryllium much intermittent than fossil fuels.

Tesla says 1 Megapack tin store complete 3.9 MWh of energy, capable to powerfulness an mean of 3,600 homes for 1 hour. The institution sells them for around $5 cardinal apiece.

The Powerwall, meanwhile, is simply a location artillery that allows customers to shop power generated by star panels and usage it to powerfulness their homes. It costs astir $16,000 before incentives, and Tesla offers it successful a package pinch nan company's star panels and "solar roof" product.