According to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed in court on Monday that the current consumer demand for the company’s Powerwall products is about 80,000 units. However, due to the shortage of chips, Tesla this quarter It is not even possible to achieve half of the demand.

Musk said that in the best case, Tesla will be able to produce 30,000 to 35,000 household backup batteries this quarter. He said that the main reason for the shortage of production is the shortage of chip supply.

Currently, Musk is testifying in the Delaware Justice Court. He revealed the latest Powerwall production situation during his testimony. Musk is defending Tesla's previous acquisition in court. In 2016, the company bought SolarCity, a solar equipment manufacturer, for $2.6 billion.

Tesla shareholders filed a lawsuit against the company. They accused Musk of promoting the transaction with SolarCity. Shareholders believed that the transaction should not happen, saying that Musk was in his best interests when making this acquisition. , Not the interests of Tesla.

In addition to spending $2.6 billion to acquire SolarCity, Tesla also assumed its billion-dollar debt and other obligations. There are a lot of personal connections between the two companies. For example, the founder and head of SolarCity is Musk's cousin. In addition, Musk was also the chairman of Tesla and SolarCity at the same time.

The shareholders who filed the lawsuit against Musk also believe that in all aspects of the transaction, including the financial health of SolarCity and the investment in its solar bonds by SpaceX, another joint venture led by Musk, he and Tesla have ownership There is not enough transparency among voting shareholders

Tesla released Powerwall a year before acquiring SolarCity

In May 2015, exactly one year before Tesla acquired SolarCity, the company established its energy business, and they held a large-scale product launch event to introduce its Powerwall and larger energy storage products. Musk preached that Tesla's electric cars will use clean and abundant solar energy to make them more sustainable.

He said that energy storage systems can become a more reliable way of using renewable energy, for example, storing solar energy generated during the day for use at night. At the event, Tesla installed Powerwalls on the wall of the auditorium, and Musk has been pointing to this brand new energy storage product during his speech.

This battery energy storage system allows owners to completely get rid of the grid and achieve power self-sufficiency. In the event of a power outage, the system can also supply power to the house and provide convenience for users' lives. Musk said: "This system can be used out of the box and works well with the solar system." However, Musk did not specify which brands of solar panels Powerwall should be used with. He said at the press conference that Powerwalls will start selling in the next 3-4 months.

However, in court this week, Musk said that if it does not acquire SolarCity, the company will not be able to complete the production of Powerwall.

In Monday’s trial, the shareholder’s lawyer asked Musk if he believed that June 2016 was “not the best time for Tesla to acquire a financially troubled company for more than $2 billion.” Musk replied to this question: "I don't think SolarCity has financial problems."

Then the lawyer re-stated his question: "It was not a good time to acquire any company, let alone a company in financial distress, right?"

Musk returned and said: "In fact, it is not correct. We were starting to develop Tesla Powerwall batteries. In order to build a competitive product, we needed a tightly integrated solar and battery solution. If SolarCity As an independent company, we cannot create a complete product."

The court will need to determine whether the Tesla CEO effectively controlled the Tesla board of directors and forced the board to reach a deal with SolarCity based on all the information that Musk shared, or whether the shareholders and the board made this decision independently.

At the same time, Tesla is still trying hard to make its solar business profitable and run its business smoothly. In the first quarter of 2021, the company's energy business revenue was US$494 million, an increase from the US$293 million in the first quarter of last year, but its cost of revenue in the first quarter reached US$595 million. Tesla did not disclose the breakdown of its solar and energy storage products, nor did it disclose its solar and energy products used in homes and larger projects, such as its Megapack in Australia.

In the first quarter of 2021, Tesla's main business, the automotive business, created $9 billion in revenue.

In the first quarter of this year, Tesla suddenly increased the price of solar installations, and customers who ordered solar panels or "Solarglass" roofs also ordered Powerwall.

Musk said on the first quarter earnings conference call: "There is only one specification now. We will not sell home solar systems without Powerwall. This solar system may be a modification of the traditional roof, or it may be Tesla solar. Glass roof, but in all cases, it must be equipped with Powerwall."

After the price increase, some of Tesla’s solar customers were affected. In California and Pennsylvania, some dissatisfied customers also initiated a class action lawsuit against Tesla. These customers said that they had prepared the funds. And the protection has been modified to prepare for the installation of Tesla's solar system, but Tesla's sudden price increase made them feel unacceptable.