While Gigafactory Shanghai has been producing electric vehicles for the local Chinese market for over a year now, Tesla China’s operations have so far been focused on the company’s electric car business. If recent teasers from Tesla are any indication, however, it appears that the company is now preparing to launch its residential energy products to the domestic market as well.
Announcements posted online in China indicate that the Tesla Powerwall is formally coming to the country in two days, with the company holding a solar, storage, and charging event on June 23, 2021. Tesla has released three promotional images for the event: one featuring a Supercharger stall, another featuring a Powerwall battery, and another one featuring a solar panel.
Interestingly enough, the products’ launch would be held at a project in Lhasa, Tibet, an area that receives a generous amount of sunshine every year. With this in mind, speculations are abounding that the upcoming event — apart from serving as the formal launch of the Powerwall and Tesla’s residential solar products — might also be related to a large industrial project.
A look at Tesla’s official webpage in China would show that energy products such as the Powerwall are still unavailable for order. Clicking on the Powerwall’s product page would present visitors with an option to receive the “latest updates” from the company, and nothing more. The official Tesla China website would likely be updated following the event on June 23, perhaps with the official local price of the Powerwall and the company’s solar products.
While the Powerwall is a solid battery storage product, its premium price (or at least its cost if imported from the United States) may be considered steep for customers in China, most of whom live in areas where electricity is relatively cheap. If Tesla has figured out a way to break into the country’s residential energy sector, however, and if the company has come up with a way to optimize the Powerwall’s cost for the local market, then the home battery unit may find a welcome home in China.
Stay tuned for our updates on Tesla China’s Powerwall and solar event tomorrow.
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