Auto Company’s Solar Deployments Continue To Decline

• Tesla's solar PV deployment rate slowed down further in Q3/2023 with 49 MW of installations 
• It blames high interest rate environment and end of net metering in California for the slowdown 
• The management said the focus will be on investments in R&D and capital expenditures for future growth to deal with high interest rates 

US electric vehicles manufacturer and solar installer Tesla's solar PV deployments continue their downward trajectory, declining almost 50% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to 49 MW in Q3/2023. 

Compared to 94 MW the company installed a year ago, it has now slid down 48% to 49 MW, blaming the decline on sustained high interest rates and the end of net metering in California. These reasons, it says, have created a downward pressure on solar demand. 

High interest rate environment pulled down the company's Q2/2023 PV installations as well when it reported 66 MW capacity (see Tesla's Solar Installations Continue To Drop). 

Within the initial 3 quarters of this year, Tesla's solar deployments dropped by over 26% to 182 MW, compared with 248 MW it reported in 9M/2022 (see Tesla's Solar Installations Up 13% YoY In Q3/2022). 

To deal with the high interest rate environment, the management, without specifying solar, stated that it will focus on investments in R&D and capital expenditures for future growth while maintaining positive free cash flow. 

On the other hand, its energy storage business continues to boom as it grew by 90% YoY in the reporting quarter to 4.0 GWh. This is the company's highest quarterly deployment ever. In the previous quarter, it increased by 222% YoY to 3.7 GWh. 

Thanks to energy storage, energy generation and storage revenues improved 40% YoY, contributing $1.56 billion to group revenues of $23.35 billion that itself grew by 9%. The management stated, "Lastly, with a combined gross profit generation of over $0.5B in Q3, our Energy Generation and Storage business and Services and Other business have become meaningful contributors to our profitability."