Elon Musk

The Powerwall Follies

A year later, reality is kicking in.

One year after Elon Musk rolled out the Powerwall: The real price is 60 to 80 percent more than Musk claimed. A handful (yes, I mean about five) have actually been installed in Germany and Australia. None in the U.S. so far.

Musk and Me

I signed up for a free quote on line.

With all the talk of the “existential threat” to traditional utilities from solar and other disruptive technologies (and the blowback against net metering in various states), I thought I’d check out SolarCity first hand.

Hailed a Taxi Lately?

Economic disruption and the future of electric utilities.

Other industries deregulated and it reduced prices and encouraged innovation. What happened to the utility sector?

Wind of Change Challenging Utilities

Elon Musk’s appearance at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention was a “wind of change” moment.

The industry is coming to terms, or trying to come to terms, with new forces that are challenging it as a business proposition in a way that it hasn’t been challenged in a history of more than 100 years.

That Old Musk Magic

Plenty of people do, judging from the reaction to Elon Musk’s media event announcing “Powerwall,” a home battery system. Powerwall would join SolarCity in Elon’s double trouble for the utility industry (when he isn’t building cars and colonizing Mars).

Do you believe in magic?

Plenty of people do, judging from the reaction to Elon Musk’s media event announcing “Powerwall,” a home battery system. Powerwall would join SolarCity in Elon’s double trouble for the utility industry (when he isn’t building cars and colonizing Mars).

The Fortnightly 40 Best Energy Companies

The industry’s transformation has begun. Should the F40 transform too?

(September 2014) Our annual ranking of shareholder performance tracks the long-term returns of leading utilities. But can it predict success in a transformed energy market?