
Tesla Motors Livestream - dmmalam
http://www.teslamotors.com/livestream/
======
cagenut
The details are up on the site:
[http://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy](http://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy)

    
    
       The Powerwall is available in 10kWh, optimized for backup
     applications or 7kWh optimized for daily use applications. 
      Both can be connected with solar or grid and both can provide 
      backup power. The 10kWh Powerwall is optimized to provide 
      backup when the grid goes down, providing power for your home 
      when you need it most. When paired with solar power, the 7kWh 
      Powerwall can be used in daily cycling to extend the 
      environmental and cost benefits of solar into the night when 
      sunlight is unavailable.
    
      Tesla’s selling price to installers is $3500 for 10kWh and 
      $3000 for 7kWh. (Price excludes inverter and installation.) 

Deliveries begin in late Summer.

~~~
jws
Meanwhile, in lead acid battery land, a Trojan T-105 is ~$150 for a 6 volt,
225 amp hour battery, which you might comfortably cycle 0.9kWh each day for 5+
years. Use 12 of them to match the 10kWh Powerwall and it only costs $1800,
replace them at the end of 5 years and you have about the same cost as the 10
year Powerwall. Powerwall is several times smaller and lighter and presumably
doesn't give off hydrogen gas when you charge it or burst and flood your room
with sulphuric acid if you get to freezing temperatures with a discharged
battery bank (done that), so there are certainly plusses.

It just isn't the silver bullet I was hoping for. I've been putting off
replacing my batteries in a cabin while I wait for this, I suppose I'll nurse
them through the Summer and make a decision in the Fall.

~~~
Turbo_hedgehog
You need 20, not 12, don't you? 6V*20 = 120V

edit: the Powerwall runs at 350-450V, 5 amps nominal. Guess it depends on the
inverter you use.

~~~
teraflop
The voltage is irrelevant. You can run an inverting 120VAC power supply from
one battery, or a hundred, as long as it supports the right voltage range.
Yes, putting 20 6V batteries in series would give you 120VDC, but that's not
particularly useful.

What matters is the energy capacity, which is measured in kWh.

------
chetanahuja
Serious question: Can anybody who's familiar with the energy storage field
explain the nature and magnitude of the innovation here. Is this just a large
lithium ion battery with some electronics added for charge/discharge control
or is it a bigger deal than that? Perhaps the innovation is in packaging and
productizing it for the various market segments?

~~~
marze
The innovation is all in the price.

~~~
stmfreak
And the marketing.

------
tdaltonc
Did USAToday break their embargo?

[http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/04/30/tesla-
st...](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/04/30/tesla-stationary-
power/26653817/)

[http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/04/30/tesl...](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/04/30/tesla-
gigafactory-success-depends-consumer-demand-lithium-battery-
technology/26664541/)

~~~
chralieboy
Doesn't look like it since they don't quote anyone at Tesla officially.

This early line especially:

"Tesla was expected to discuss its plans at an event in Hawthorne, Calif.,
near Los Angeles, late Thursday."

------
meritt
So I'm guessing it's not a watch since they can't fucking tell time.

------
martin_
Am I hitting a bug, or is it really 35 minutes in, and still on intro music?

~~~
__david__
It's no bug. I'm sitting here at the event, reading Hacker News because
nothing is happening yet.

~~~
grecy
Any word on why not?

------
bwha
You'd think with this kind of wait someone would have thought to prepare more
than 3 minutes of music.

------
SeoxyS
"Powerwall comes in 10 kWh weekly cycle and 7 kWh daily cycle models."

Can somebody explain what "weekly cycle" vs. "daily cycle" means in this
context?

~~~
prouticus
Best info I've found so far: [http://gizmodo.com/how-teslas-powerwall-stacks-
up-to-other-e...](http://gizmodo.com/how-teslas-powerwall-stacks-up-to-other-
energy-sources-1701483130)

------
TD-Linux
Flash player for a live stream, in 2015?

~~~
maxhaot
Unfortunately there's still no stable/scalable way to deliver a livestream
using HTML5 in chrome. Video on demand yes - live video no. We do it in Safari
via HLS. Max (Livestream CEO).

------
b409ba0801cd21
Is anyone else having the video stop with a buffering spinner and little or no
network activity a few seconds after starting the stream?

EDIT: I ended up working around it by switching between the two lowest quality
settings each time the stream hung. Disabling Adblock Plus on the page and
adding Flashblock exceptions had no effect.

------
Cshelton
So. COOL! The coolest part...that Tesla realizes that the goal it wants to
accomplish can not be done alone. They need companies and people around the
world. All patents are open and free for anybody to use and all technology is
open source. That is amazing. That's how change happens!

------
astrocat
It'll be interesting to see how this is pitched and what it's price point
is... I'm still not convinced that energy arbitrage is profitable enough for
individual homes given the current cost of the storage.

~~~
obstinate
I'm curious if they'll be indemnifying homeowners for fires originating in the
battery pack.

Anyway, if it can clearly save me money and is not incredibly expensive up-
front, I'll likely get one. Even if you actively conserve, electricity is
decently expensive over the long run.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Presumably they're using a stable form of lithium ion battery, does anyone
know? Maybe something similar to A123 Systems' lithium iron phosphate?

~~~
greglindahl
If only Tesla had experience with batteries... wait! They ship cars! Electric
cars! With a lot more battery history than A123! Woah.

------
Adaptive
Musk's delivery style is so refreshing compared to the Steve Jobs clones on
every stage. He's knowledgeable, charming, funny. Great stuff.

~~~
wiggumz
I've watched maybe 7 videos about him. Musk is too eager to throw employees
under the bus.

It is this reason alone why I'd never buy a tesla.

~~~
mdekkers
can you explain/elaborate?

------
frakkingcylons
A notable beta user from the press kit:

AWS will be running a 4.8 megawatt hour pilot program with Tesla's batteries
in the us-west-1 AZ (Northern California).

------
simonebrunozzi
At least we know that the product will be called Powerwall.

On a side note, there might be a reason why MOST live streaming event start
late - it provides a sense of scarcity and drives more views. I am not saying
that it is happening in this particular case, but I know for a fact that it is
a technique sometimes used/tested by professionals; I don't know how often
though.

------
etlipman
Not the only one - where was the tweet explaining his lateness? In the mean
time
[https://twitter.com/stphn_lacey/status/593750480834195456](https://twitter.com/stphn_lacey/status/593750480834195456)

------
grecy
Pretty cool that it's "Gigafactory 1"

And they're viewing it as another product.

------
nightski
Living in the north that -4 degree F lower operating temp limit makes me sad.
Sure you could put it in a heated garage - but I bet this explains why no one
up here owns a Tesla vehicle yet.

~~~
grecy
put it on the inside of your house. It looks like art and doesn't take up much
space.

Up here in the Yukon everyone has their batteries inside, else they'd freeze.

------
GigabyteCoin
Is there going to be a download available of the livestream? I'd love to have
watched it, but it kept cutting out after about 15 seconds for me even on the
lowest quality.

------
chrisjlee
"Fundamental change on how the world works"

------
spectrum1234
can someone explain how the open sourcing he mentions will benefit Tesla?
typically open sourcing is only best when you are a platform as a service. I'm
not seeing that - what am I missing?

------
melted
Holy shit TSLA is going to go through the roof tomorrow.

~~~
xsmasher
Tesla and Musk have been teasing the contents of the announcement all week;
everyone knew what it would be, but not the specs/price.

I don't think the stock will be blow up again until we see sales and profit
numbers for these new products.

------
mami
*yap

