With so much emphasis on the Model 3, the question on many people’s mind is, “Will Tesla’s solar efforts finally begin to gain traction?” According to USA Today, “The company is going to double down on selling solar through its 110 U.S. Tesla stores, which it has reconfigured in past months to ensure that Powerwall is on prominent display and in-house solar experts, some of whom worked Home Depot aisles for Tesla, are at the ready.”
It’s happened again. Someone who hasn’t followed or has only loosely followed Tesla and Elon Musk in the past decade has swooped in with a damning, critical take on the two. The problem is that it’s based on an absurd lack of context, Trump-style hyperbole (i.e., rhetorical lies), and illogical conclusions.
The wait time for the Tesla Solar Roof and Powerwall is going up instead of coming down. JB Straubel says, “Don’t worry. Be happy.”
Wall Street is obsessed with Tesla Model 3 production numbers. To some degree, this is understandable. But, according to one disruptive Wall Street analyst, Tesla’s production numbers don’t accurately reflect the bigger picture for Elon Musk.
The ongoing onslaught of anti-Tesla articles in the press surely stems from many sources, and yes, some of these are doubtless legitimate journalists who are simply describing the situation as they see it. However, it’s widely believed that much of the mud, especially the (seemingly hourly) articles that focus on financial and stock-market topics, originates with short sellers who stand to gain serious money if TSLA stock falls.
My follow-up report to my last CleanTechnica dispatch — the article in which I explained the basics of the my solar array/Powerwall/charging station installation — was supposed to be a show & tell from the Tech Talk Tesla Energy personnel. It was planned at my house for June 23. This would have been a brief presentation by our Tesla Energy Advisor as to the overall installation of our 8.125 kW array and support equipment as well as the advantages of having a Powerwall in the loop and a charging station, for those fortunate enough to have already moved to electric vehicles. I planned on giving rides in my Model S and at least one Model 3 owner was expected to attend.
An exclusive Reuters report published last week dealt an unfortunate blow to the US solar industry, revealing that EV giant Tesla’s move to cut 9% of its workforce will subsequently downsize subsidiary SolarCity, the company’s residential solar business that it acquired in November 2016, resulting in the closing of approximately a dozen installation facilities and ending a retail partnership with Home Depot.
Sam Jammal launched a campaign for Congress in order to bridge the gaps he sees between the cleantech industry and Capitol Hill. He’s currently running for Congress in California’s 39th district.
Bullish billionaire Ron Baron sees such potential with Tesla that he expects his investment firm Baron Capital to make an absolute killing on TSLA stock.
Panasonic confirmed in recent days that it has not locked in a deal yet with Tesla for its Chinese Gigafactory. Several Panasonic executives commented on the matter, noting that plans are “not solidified yet” and that “nothing is set in stone.” It’s unclear if that’s glass-half-full or glass-half-empty commentary, but the next line leads one to think it’s in the plans.
