Tesla: new Powerwall rechargeable battery pack coming in 2016

PanARMENIAN.Net - Last year, Tesla unveiled the Powerwall: a rechargeable battery pack for the home intended to store solar energy and provide backup power when needed. Although it was only available in limited quantities, Tesla quickly racked up some 38,000 pre-orders and declared that the product was sold out through the first half 2016. Now, the company has moved on to the next version, with CEO Elon Musk announcing that a new Powerwall will likely be available this summer, the Verge reports.

"We've got the Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack, which we have a lot of trials underway right now around the world. We've seen very good results," said Musk during a talk to Tesla car owners in Paris. "We'll be coming out with version two of the Powerwall probably around July, August this year, which will see further step change in capabilities."

However, Musk himself has previously said that the rate of improvement in battery tech isn't that substantial. Last year, for example, he noted that while Tesla's upcoming Gigafactory will be able to deliver better batteries than those the company currently purchases from Panasonic, they would still only offer "moderate improvements."