Tesla raises Powerwall 2 home battery price in US – will Australia follow?

Is Tesla about to raise the price of its Powerwall 2 home battery storage systems in Australia?

A report out of the US on Thursday said that the electric car and battery storage giant had increased the price of its 13.5kWh Powerwall units in response to sustained “through the roof” demand, which was in turn being driven by searing heatwaves, wild fires, and the recent blackouts in California.

According to Electrek, Tesla has increased the price of the Powerwall 2 by $US500, up from $US6,500 before any other hardware or incentives, to $US7,000. Add in the accompanying hardware and installation and the price goes up to $US11,500.

That said, Electrek notes that one of the factors driving increased uptake of Powerwalls has been generous state government incentives for the batteries, not least in California.

Whether this surging US demand will have a flow-on effect on Australian Powerwall prices is unclear – One Step reached out to Tesla to ask if there would be a cost increase here, but had not heard back in time for publication.

Currently, according to the Tesla Australia website, Powerwalls are priced at $A11,700, including total equipment costs and goods and services tax, but not including installation, which costs anywhere between between $1,150 and $2,900, depending on the location and installer.

According to Origin Energy’s website, a Tesla Powerwall purchased through the gen-tailer currently costs $14,995 (GST inclusive) for a standard installation to an existing solar system, and $500 less if packaged with a solar system purchase.

Based on current currency conversion rates, a $US500 in America would translate to a $A700 price hike here in Australia, if it were to be passed along the chain, which could push total installed costs to upwards of $15,000 in some cases.

Prices for the Powerwall 2 in Australia have fluctuated in the past, with Tesla raising them by nearly 20% in October 2018, and then in July of 2019 dropping them back down to the current price of $A11,700, from $A12,350.

Back in 2018, Tesla said of the price moves: “We occasionally adjust our global pricing to best reflect what we’re offering to customers and the value of our products,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The price adjustments made today are the latest example of that.”

Tesla Powerwalls have been relatively popular in Australia, taking into account the slow-moving and stubbournly low level of demand for home battery storage. Certainly, cost remains a barrier to the sort of widespread uptake Australia has seen with rooftop solar.