Tesla has slashed the price of its Powerwall battery by more than $1600, marking the first significant retail cost reduction for the popular home energy storage system in Australia in at least two years.
Tesla has informed suppliers that it has cut the price of the 13.5kWh Powerwall battery from its previous recommended price of $16,230 to $14,599, due to cost improvements along the supply chain.
It also told them that Australian customers can look forward to “a strong and consistent Powerwall supply,” as well as reduced customer wait time.
“We are pleased to inform you that due to ongoing improvements in supply chains and foreign exchange, the price of Powerwall will decrease as of Friday 24th February 2023,” the company said in an email to distributors seen by One Step Off the grid.
“Product is now available in country and being allocated on a first in first out basis.”
The price reduction follows a series of hikes made to the cost of the home battery, starting more than two years ago with an $800 jump in November 2020 that Tesla attributed to “through the roof” demand.
The price was then lifted again in February 2021 to $13,300, not including installation, without any official explanation for the rise.
Another three price rises came in 2022, when the retail cost of a Powerwall went up to $13,700 in April and then to $14,650 in May – a new high for the popular home battery in Australia – and then again to the most recent high of $16,230.
The new lower price takes the cost of a Powerwall (minus installation) to just below where it was in May of last year, just in time for a potential new wave of interest in battery storage, as solar households look to save more money by using more of their rooftop generated power – and as the threat of solar export tariffs looms.
The cost of home energy storage – which many had hoped would follow a similar price trajectory to rooftop solar over the years – has suffered from a combination of huge battery demand coming from the EV sector and a supply crunch exacerbated by wars and pandemics.
Tesla has openly prioritised the supply of batteries to its EV division, as well as for its larger-scale Megapack batteries that are being used in grid-scale energy storage systems around the globe.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
