Tesla's impressive energy storage business in China has made new progress in its 2023 annual report.
According to the official account "Shanghai Lingang" of the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Lingang District, Tesla, a new energy vehicle company, has recently obtained the construction permit for its energy storage super factory project in Shanghai. It is understood that this is Tesla's first energy storage super factory project outside of the United States.
According to previous media reports, the above-mentioned energy storage super factory project will start construction in May this year and complete mass production in the first quarter of 2025. At present, Tesla's energy generation and storage revenue has become a prominent part of Tesla's financial report data.
According to Tesla's Q1 2024 financial report, Tesla's energy generation and storage revenue and gross profit reached a new high, with revenue increasing by 7% year-on-year to reach $1.635 billion and gross profit increasing by 140% year-on-year.
Regarding the approval of the construction of Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory project, a reporter from China Business Daily interviewed Tesla China for further information. As of the time of publication, no response has been received.
Over 200000 square meters project approved
Tesla's energy storage super factory construction project in Shanghai has recently been approved.
According to the Administrative Licensing Decision on the Approval of the River related Construction Plan for Tesla Energy Storage Super Factory Project issued by the Shanghai Lingang New Area Management Committee (Shanghai Free Trade Lingan Shen [2024] No. 351), the project is located in Nanhui New Town, Pudong New Area, covering an area of over 200000 square meters with a total investment of approximately 1.45 billion yuan.
According to relevant media reports, the project will produce mega packs of ultra large commercial energy storage batteries to help power grid operators, utility companies, and others store and distribute renewable energy more efficiently. The reporter noticed that as early as April 2023, Tesla and Shanghai Lingang New Area signed a contract for the energy storage super factory project. At the end of December 2023, the two sides held a land transfer signing ceremony.
At that time, the official account "Shanghai Lingang" of the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Lingang District issued a document saying that the products of this project were supplied to the global market. The factory plans to start construction in the first quarter of 2024 and start production in the fourth quarter. Initially, it plans to produce 10000 commercial energy storage batteries annually, with a storage capacity of nearly 40GWh.
"The construction and operation of Tesla's energy storage super factory is not only an important optimization of its global production layout, but also a profound investment in the future of sustainable energy, and an important step in realizing the global transformation vision towards sustainable energy," said the Shanghai Lingang Area Management Committee.
According to information on Tesla's official website, Megapack can store clean energy for use at any time, customize integrated system adaptation facilities, reduce energy costs, and support low-cost, high-density utility projects on a gigawatt hour scale, integrating with battery modules, inverters, and temperature systems for installation at any time. In addition, Megapack can automatically analyze the market and specific site conditions through advanced software and controls to ensure the effectiveness, scalability, and security of energy storage systems.
"The application rate of renewable energy in power grids around the world is continuously increasing. Tesla's grid grade batteries and control software can store and dispatch energy, making the grid more stable and sustainable. Tesla stated that by integrating hardware, software, installation, and services into one system, it effectively reduces costs and provides reliable energy for utility institutions and developers.".
It is understood that Tesla's Megapack has deployed over 10GWh in over 65 countries and has over 1500 operational sites.
Looking for new growth points
In fact, energy storage business has gradually become a new growth point for Tesla in recent years.
The reporter noticed that in the first quarter of this year, Tesla experienced a sales slump, while several important financial indicators also declined. According to Tesla's previously released sales data, in the first quarter of this year, Tesla delivered a total of 387000 vehicles worldwide, a year-on-year decrease of 8.53%, and a month on month decrease of 20.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. This is the first year-on-year decrease in Tesla's quarterly delivery volume in nearly four years and the worst performance in the past five quarters.
According to Tesla's Q1 2024 financial report data, Tesla's revenue reached $21.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, a decrease of 9% compared to the same period last year and a decrease of 15% compared to the previous year. At the same time, the net profit reached 1.129 billion US dollars, a decrease of 55% compared to the same period last year and an 86% decrease compared to the previous year; The gross profit margin reached 17.4%, a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the same period last year and a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year.
However, compared to the overall decline in performance, Tesla's energy storage business data is too eye-catching. The reporter noticed that Tesla's 2023 financial report and Q1 2024 report data both show that the growth rate of its energy storage business is leading.
According to Tesla's 2023 financial report data, Tesla's installed energy storage capacity reached 14.7 GWh in 2023, an increase of 125% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, in 2023, Tesla's energy generation and storage business profits have quadrupled compared to the same period last year.
After entering 2024, Tesla's energy storage business also continued to grow. In the first quarter of 2024, Tesla's energy generation and storage revenue and gross profit reached a new high, with revenue increasing by 7% year-on-year to reach $1.635 billion and gross profit increasing by 140% year-on-year. The deployment of energy storage also continued to increase, reaching 4.1GWh.
In the future, energy storage business may become a key development direction for Tesla. The reporter noticed that as early as 2015, Tesla officially entered the energy storage field; In 2019, Tesla released its third-generation energy storage product Megapack, which can provide high-capacity energy storage solutions for utility and commercial energy.
In its Q1 2024 report, Tesla stated that its energy production and storage business remains Tesla's highest profit margin business, with a second assembly line currently in operation and Tesla continuing to increase production capacity. Its 40GWh super factory in Las Roche, California is about to operate at full capacity.
Tesla CEO Musk also stated in a previous earnings conference call that in 2024, Tesla's energy storage business will grow faster than its electric vehicle business.