Click Here For An Updated Blog Post (2018): Tesla Powerwall 2'S Availability In New Zealand (And A Hefty Price Increase!)
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On the 28th of October (in Universal Studios, Hollywood) a presentation took place with everyone's favourite awkward billionaire Elon Musk, at the helm. The big reveal was that the Tesla Powerwall 2 was on its way to market. Musk delivered the news in his casual and seemingly un-rehearsed style, and like always, the Tesla presentation received a lot of fan-fare and media hype.
The Powerwall 2 has many a mind-blowing spec that we think is worth getting excited about. It was announced that the Tesla Powerwall 2 has double the energy storage of the original Powerwall 1, along with double the energy output. This version of the Powerwall can be conveniently floor mounted, rather than trying to figure out how your garage wall will support the 120kg unit (the first Powerwall was/is a 100kg). The Powerwall 2 has a built in inverter and it gives you the option of living completely off grid.
Initially, I was excited by the price of the Powerwall 2, coming in at a cool US$5,500. But after doing some calculations for the expected price in New Zealand, I quickly found myself ushered back into reality. The price of a Powerwall 2 would be approximately NZ$11,375. This price includes the installation, shipping and GST. The price isn't at all bad, especially for the storage size, but it's not that amazing price point that makes battery storage affordable and attractive.
On the Australian version of the Tesla website, the Powerwall can be pre-ordered for an AU$650 deposit, with a total installation cost of AU$9,450 ex. GST (estimate).
The Powerwall 2 is not expected to be released to the US market until last quarter, 2017.
I absolutely admire the Tesla company, their vision, their products, it's amazing what they have achieved in such a short amount of time. I understand their marketing strategy of launching products early because they get to be seen as the first in the market, and it's free marketing for the Tesla brand. However, by launching products too early some may consider this as a cruel tease. The early announcements get people excited and talking, but when this excitement is followed by disappointment (due to products not being available in the foreseeable future), it can make for a tough pill to swallow.
After hearing about the first Powerwall I was excited about the news, could this be the revolution we have all been waiting for?! I jumped online and started to write about the prospect of the Powerwall reaching our fair shores, this was way back in May 2015, over a year and a half ago. But since this announcement, we are still waiting in New Zealand for the Powerwall to be available for purchase. It wasn't until May 2016 that the first Tesla Powerwall was installed in New Zealand as a part of Vector's beta round install. It has only been within the last few months that a few fortunate home owners have had a Powerwall installed on their homes.
The best aspect about the Powerwall 2 is the fact that there is a large improvement between the two models that has been achieved in such a short turnaround time. Although solar batteries are not yet infiltrating New Zealand shores, battery technologies and efficiencies are improving so fast that sooner or later, we'll all be enjoying the benefits of this truly amazing technology.
Some more indepth specs of the Powerwall 2:
13.5kWh of usable Capacity
7kW peak power output, 5kW continuous power output
Dimensions LxWxD: 1150mm x 755mm x 155mm
The internal inverter is yet to be specified