Elon Musk: Tesla energy storage now growing ‘much faster than car business’

Tesla boss Elon Musk said growth in its energy storage operation will outpace its iconic car business this year after deployments more than doubled, with EV volume expansion set to stall in 2024.

The US company led by billionaire CEO Musk saw energy storage – including its utility-scale Megapack batteries – hit 14.7GWh of deployments last year, a 125% boost on 2022’s figure.

Musk told investors on a call to discuss its latest quarterly results: “I think we’ll continue to see very strong growth in storage, as predicted.

“I said for many years that the storage business would grow much faster than the car business, and it is doing that.”

Tesla’s kit has over the last five years been used at some of the world’s largest battery energy storage projects, most recently with a major deployment in Hawaii that claimed to be the most advanced of its type globally.

Musk has long forecast steep growth for storage, fuelled by the need to integrate variable renewable energy sources into the grid, and to help balance supply and demand created by electrification – and not least by Tesla’s own EVs.

The bullish stance on energy storage came as Tesla warned it could see a downturn in automotive.

The company told investors: “In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas.

“In 2024, the growth rate of deployments and revenue in our Energy Storage business should outpace the Automotive business.”