Tesla’s solar energy leader is in decline, according to the latest numbers from its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report.
The automaker revealed on Wednesday that its solar deployments fell 36% to a total of 223 megawatts last year, down from 348 megawatts in 2022. Although high interest rates have slowed solar growth in some markets, That Tesla’s downturn came with the United States. Had a record year overall; The United States added 33 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2023 per Estimates from SEIASolar Energy Industry Group.
It’s been a bad year for Tesla Solar – the worst since 2020. And come to think of it, the fourth quarter of 2023 looks even worse.
In Q4 2023, Tesla’s solar deployments fell 59% year-over-year to 41 MW — down from 100 MW in Q4 2022. Aside from blaming interest rates, the company offered no other explanation For low wattage. At least part of the blame may lie with Tesla’s shift in strategy from installer to supplier. Car maker Laid off – temporarily laid off Some of their solar installers last year and Several scheduled “solar roof” installations have been cancelled, per Electric. Tesla bought SolarCity a little more than seven years ago, for $2.6 billion.
Besides solar energy, Tesla’s energy generation and storage business is booming (What a surprise). The company said its energy storage deployments — which include Powerwall home batteries and utility-scale Megapacks — topped 14,724 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2023, up 125% from the previous year.
Despite the overall boom, Tesla commented that it expects some fluctuations in power deployments quarter-over-quarter, and the company’s Q4 results show the same. The automaker deployed 3,202 MWh in Q4 2023; Down from the previous three quartersbut higher if you compare this number to the same quarter of the previous year (4th quarter of 2022).
The size of Tesla’s residential solar business isn’t what it used to be. However, commercial and household batteries still play a major role in the transition to renewable energy sources, storing intermittently available clean energy for later use. These batteries can also help communities and Even entire islands Countries are preparing for severe weather by reducing demand on the grid and providing backup power during power outages.