I've been saying something similar to that headline since I first became excited about Tesla in the fall of 2013, but I put it this way: "Tesla isn't a car company, it's an energy storage and management company that happens to make cars." And that is why those who value Tesla based only on its auto production and revenue numbers are missing the big picture.
More widespread battery use implies large scale production to make batteries considerably cheaper to have EVs compete with conventional cars. Particularly considering the fact that according to Edmunds "only 45 percent of this year's hybrid and EV trade-ins have gone toward the purchase of another alternative fuel vehicle, down from just over 60 percent in 2012". "For better or worse, it looks like many hybrid and EV owners are driven more by financial motives rather than a responsibility to the environment", says Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Struggle to Maintain Owner Loyalty, Reports Edmunds.com
If you've been following some of Tesla's actvities in the industry, you've noticed this is has been a subtext within the company for a while. Note JB Straubel's comments at the Silicon Valley Energy Symposium: Combine that with some of the other products they have spent development time on and you can see they have larger ideas:
Prelim Apology: I apologize if this has been asked / answered numerous times, already. Question: Should we expect: - Name Change: from Tesla Motors to some name that more accurately reflects Tesla Motors' business economies of scope / scale I won't even broach the SolarCity acquisition speculation. Thanks
Tesla Energy, Inc. I think 20 years from now Tesla together with Solar City is going to be more like Duke, Reliant, NRG etc.,. than it will be a simple car company. The corporate structure of that conglomeration remains to be seen. As for the SolarCity speculation, it has seemed to me for a while that if the branding of the backup battery will be "Tesla" rather than "Solar City," then if Solar City ever builds its solar panel factory, it would kind of make sense to have the panels branded as Tesla panels rather than Solar City brand panels. Putting Solar City brand panels on a house with a Tesla battery backup doesn't jive quite as nicely. But Tesla and Solar City seem to be on an inevitable parallel track, such that if they are ever to tap into the full potential to be like Duke, Reliant or NRG -- there will probably have to be a merger at some point.
As for the name: why not just Tesla Inc? Simple. Everyone knows what you're talking about by now anyway.
@stevejust the team definitely has had bigger plans for a long time. Have you ever typed in the URL "teslaenergy dot com"? It will definitely be interesting to see how the conglomerate is arranged many moons from now.
They are already building it's own "gigafactory" http://www.buffalonews.com/business/solarcity-factory-could-grow-again-if-company-needs-to-expand-20141106
Has anyone had good experience with Solar City? I found them unwilling to work with anything but a composition shingle roof and much higher pricing per kW AC than others.
No. I had a terrible experience with them. I used a local installer and got an installation for less that $1.50 a watt after incentives and tax break, so I guess I should thank them for being a bag of jerks to me on the phone when I was trying to get a quote.