Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) appears to be preparing to deploy the first Powerwalls in the U.S. The EV firm has sent out surveys to early reservation holders, says a report from Clean Technica.
Tesla got good initial response
Not many details are known for now, but since Tesla has already released the user manual and installed Powerwalls in the U.K. and Australia, it seems to be an apt time for the surveys and a good sign for the masses waiting for Powerwall. It remains to be seen how many of the tens of thousands of the early reservations the EV firm can covert to actual sales. Recall that CEO Elon Musk revealed that they received 38,000 reservations within a few hours of the announcement.
For a Powerwall reservation, there was no requirement of any financial or contractual commitment. Thus, most reservation holders are likely testing the waters as a way of staying in touch with the latest developments taking place inside Tesla.
Reservations, not sales
There are thousands of reservations that just can’t be converted to an order for varying reasons, the report says. People with a solar setup that converts solar power from DC to AC via Enphase Energy micro-inverters before it leaves the roof will find Powerwall unattractive. This means that they will need separate inverters just for Powerwall. This will not be an issue for reservation holders who use single inverters for the full system, the report says.
Also there are some solar owners who have micro-inverters, and all AC wiring, while there are others who have DC power piped down to a single system inverter. Such a split will prove problematic for Tesla as it has designed the Powerwall to sit on the DC side of a system. It can be used with a micro-inverter-based system, but it will cost slightly higher for the extra inverter, the report says.
Tesla’s fanbase is already confused with the split, and they are letting their frustration out on the Twitter-sphere. The answer to whether or not Tesla will develop a battery system with an integrated inverter for use with micro-inverter-based systems is no, but possibly it will begin with in-house manufacturing of inverters, provided there is enough demand.
