Topics

Latest

AI

Amazon

Article image

Image Credits:Tesla

Apps

Biotech & Health

Climate

Tesla solar tile roof

Image Credits:Tesla

Cloud Computing

Commerce

Crypto

initiative

EVs

Fintech

Fundraising

Gadgets

Gaming

Google

Government & Policy

ironware

Instagram

layoff

Media & Entertainment

Meta

Microsoft

seclusion

Robotics

Security

societal

Space

Startups

TikTok

Transportation

Venture

More from TechCrunch

Events

Startup Battlefield

StrictlyVC

newssheet

Podcasts

Videos

Partner Content

TechCrunch Brand Studio

Crunchboard

Contact Us

Tesla ’s once - direct solar business is in decline , according to the latest trope from itsfourth - quarter 2023earnings account .

The automaker revealed on Wednesday that its solar deployment cratered by 36 % to a sum of 223 megawatts ( MW ) last yr , down from 348 MW in 2022 . Although high interest rates slowed solar growth in some markets , Tesla ’s shoplifting come as the United States notched a disk year overall ; the U.S. add 33 gigawatts of solar electrical capacity in 2023 , perestimates from SEIA , a solar industry radical .

It was a bad year for Tesla solar — its worst since 2020 . If we soar in , the final tail of 2023 looks worse still .

In Q4 2023 , Tesla ’s solar deployment drop 59 % class - over - class to 41 MW — down from 100 MW in Q4 2022 . Aside from find fault interest rates , the society offered no other explanation for the wattage decline . At least part of the blame may descend on a shift in Tesla ’s strategy from installer to supplier . The automakerlaid offsome of its own solar installers last year andcancelled numerous scheduled “ solar roof ” installations , per Electrek . Teslabought SolarCitya little more than seven years ago , for $ 2.6 billion .

Next to solar , Tesla ’s vim generation and memory board business is booming ( surprisal , surprisal ) . The company said its energy storage deployments — which include Powerwall home plate batteries and utility - scale Megapacks , topped 14,724 megawatt 60 minutes ( MWh ) in 2023 , up by 125 % from the twelvemonth earlier .

Despite the overall godsend , Tesla comment that it require some unpredictability in energy deployments quarter - by - quarter , and the house ’s Q4 results show as much . The car manufacturer deployed 3,202 MWh in Q4 2023;down from the prior three stern , but up if you liken that name to the same fourth part a year sooner ( Q4 2022 ) .

The shell of Tesla ’s residential solar business is n’t what it once was . Yet , commercial and family shelling still play a cardinal purpose in the switch to renewable vigour source , as they lay in intermittently usable unobjectionable energy for former use . Such battery can also help community , andeven entire islandsand states , prepare for extreme weather by trim peak demand on the grid and providing backup energy during outages .