Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk has shown no signs of slowing down with news that he is planning to snap up major solar power provider, Solar City.
The unprecedented move will see the Tesla chief muscle in on the energy sector as he attempts to control some of the resources that his future fleet of cars will rely on in the future. Speaking of his decision to move into a new industry before he has perfected the automotive one, Musk explained that, “the world does not lack for automotive companies.”
“The world lacks for sustainable energy companies.”
This news should come as an advantage to electric car owners as Tesla have already received 400,000 deposits for the new $US30,000 Model 3 which will begin production later this year. On a grander scheme the plan should also reinforce the longevity of the electric car industry. Predictions have the cost of electric cars matching that of internal combustion vehicles by 2022.
Given that there will be more electric vehicles on the road, Musk wants to ensure that big polluters like the U.S aren't burning more fossil fuels to keep up with the extra demand on the grid, hence negating the point of green energy. His solution therefore is to vertically integrate with Solar City and household powering batteries via the Tesla Energy program.
What does this all mean? A customer can one day walk into a Tesla dealership, buy a car, buy solar panels to power said car and for whatever is left over, it will get stored in the 6.4-kWh batteries at home.