With Tesla (TSLA) set to unveil its home and business batteries on a commercial scale soon, it turns out Elon Musk’s company has already started powering Wal-Mart stores, Bloomberg News and Business Insider have reported.
So far, the electric batteries are in 11 Wal-Marts (WMT) in the U.S. in a trial phase. About 300 homes are using the batteries as part of a testing program in California. According to Business Insider;
Tesla’s move into batteries has been long expected. Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted back in February at the company’s intentions to build batteries, and in March he tweeted that a “major new Tesla product line — not a car” was to be unveiled on April 30.
Tesla’s investor relations head Jeffrey Evanson confirmed the “Tesla home battery and a very large utility scale battery,” according to Business Insider. Food processing company Cargill is also reportedly trying out the batteries for power. Schools and wineries are on Musk’s list of places to use the new technology as well.
“Tesla has been able to install more than 100 projects, really without anyone noticing,” Andrea James, an analyst with Dougherty & Co, told Bloomberg. “She said Tesla’s energy storage business could be worth as much as $70 to Tesla’s stock, which yesterday gained 2 percent to $209.41,” according to the article.
Tesla’s earnings in the last quarter didn’t meet analysts’ high expectations. Musk’s company lost $.13 per share on adjusted revenue of $1.1 billion.