Known for making big promises, Elon Musk has made a bet to solve one state’s electricity woes with Tesla batteries in 100 days, or he doesn’t get paid.
The bet began with an impromptu proposal on Twitter from Lyndon Rive. Head of Tesla’s energy products, he suggested its Powerwall 2 batteries could solve South Australia’s recent wave of power shortages during the product’s launch in Melbourne on Thursday, according to Mashable.
The bold claim prompted inquiries and speculation from local officials and tech entrepreneurs, ending with Musk’s bet made via Twitter. That offer now seems to be in motion. South Australia Senator Sarah-Hanson Young replied to Musk, tweeting “Let’s talk!” The plan would be to install 100-300 megawatt hours of grid-scale battery storage to address electricity supply problems caused by a recent power plant closure in the region.
“We don’t have 300MWh sitting there ready to go, but I’ll make sure there are,” Rive told the Australian Financial Review. Tesla’s recent battery farm in Southern California, which cost nearly $100 million, addressed a similar issue in about 90 days. Tesla’s proposition in South Australia would cost $200 million in batteries alone.
—RealClearLife
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