Tesla to supply electricity in Great Britain as demand for Model 3 and Model Y falters
Tesla has won approval to provide homes and businesses across England, Scotland, and Wales with electricity, after energy regulator Ofgem granted the company an electricity supply licence.
This will allow the Elon Musk-owned carmaker-turned-energy company to replicate its supply business in Texas, where it’s branded as ‘Tesla Electric’ and promises to power “your home, electric vehicle and community with low-cost sustainable electricity”.
Tesla’s UK electricity licence means it is unable to offer a dual-fuel contract to households. It could, however, supply a customer’s electricity if they have a separate tariff for their gas supply.
In Texas, Tesla operates a ‘virtual power plant’ that allows customers to charge their cars cheaply and sell excess electricity stored in Tesla’s solar-powered Powerwall home batteries back to the grid.
This is comparable to Great Britain’s Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). The SEG sells unused renewable power back to the grid for up to 30p per kilowatt-hour on a dedicated SEG tariff such as Outgoing Octopus. Octopus and EDF are the only household energy suppliers in the UK to offer Tesla’s in-house Powerwall. Tesla claims to have installed more than a million Powerwalls globally.
Over the last year, Tesla UK car sales have dropped by 37% from 3,852 to 2,422. Its market share stands at just 1.34% – below Chinese relative newcomer BYD on 2.64%, and BMW, which is experiencing an electric car renaissance at a market share of 5.43%.
In addition to Musk’s political affiliations, Tesla’s reputation has taken a nosedive following several accidents with its self-driving taxis and redacted accident reports. Moreover, its product range has stagnated, despite launching a cheaper version of its best-selling Model 3 toward the end of last year.
Tesla killed off its ageing Model S and Model X earlier this year to focus on its Optimus robot. While heavily facelifted for the 2024 model year, the Model 3 was launched almost a decade ago. Released in 2022, the Model Y is Tesla’s newest model. Despite Musk’s regular promises of a new Tesla Roadster, no debut date has yet been confirmed.
