Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an April 2023 earnings call continued to tout the promise of Tesla's energy storage business. But Musk didn't say anything about Tesla's solar roof business, which appears to be struggling, according to third-party research.
During the April 2023 earnings call, Musk said: "It is possible automotive revenue may be higher, but gigawatt hours I think will be probably higher with stationary storage. If you just look at the -- what's needed to transition the world to a sustainable energy economy, there is more stationary energy storage needed than there is mobile energy storage. So -- and we are seeing growth of our stationary storage well in excess of automotive. So that is in line with expectations."
Tesla Solar Roof: Silence from Elon Musk
Meanwhile, Musk did not mention or describe Tesla's solar roof business during the earnings call.
Third-party research suggests that business is struggling. the anecdotal evidence: Tesla has only installed 3,000 of its Solar Roof systems in the U.S., according to research by Wood Mackenzie. Rewind to 2019, and Tesla said it was striving to produce and install 1,000 Solar Roof systems per week, CNBC noted.
Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016. At the time, Musk served on the board of both businesses.
The Global Solar Power Market is expected to reach $377.04 billion by 2029, expanding at a 7.0% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2023, according to Exactitude Consultancy.
