Elon Musk makes a bet to fix a state's energy woes in 100 days, or it's free

Elon Musk's remarkable wager proves he's confident in his tech.
Elon Musk's remarkable wager proves he's confident in his tech.
Image: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Now we know Elon Musk is a betting man.

Yesterday, Tesla's Vice President for energy products Lyndon Rive (who is Musk's cousin) said the company could build enough battery storage capacity with its Powerwall 2, to solve lingering energy supply concerns in the state of South Australia, within 100 days. So modest.

It was an idea enthusiastically taken aboard by Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, who offered to help find the cash on Twitter Thursday. That is, if Tesla could deliver on their ambitious claim.

"Lyndon and @elonmusk — how serious are you about this bet? If I can make the $ happen (& politics), can you guarantee 100 MW in 100 days?" Cannon-Brookes wrote on Twitter Thursday.

Roughly 18 hours later, Musk responded: "Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?" he asked.

Holy crap! Company founders are betting on the energy solutions of an entire state now. It's on! Fingers crossed, anyway.

As Rive claimed yesterday during the launch of the Powerwall 2, Tesla has previously solved deficiencies in grid power.

"We had a similar challenge in southern California," he said. "We got 80MW up in 90 days. That's unheard of. You just don't get power plants running up and down that fast." 

Tesla's newly-opened Gigafactory in Nevada is behind the company's confidence in fulfilling demand. "Because of the big factory that we've built that is now operational, that's caused a boost in production and made it cost effective," Rive said. 

"Combine that with integrating the inverter with the technology — it works very efficiently — which is why we are very confident that this tech can stabilise the grid." 

According to the Australian Financial Review, the batteries alone would cost A$200 million based on Cannon-Brookes' "extremely preliminary" estimates. Funding could come from government agencies, or even the dudes themselves. Just saying.

The cost doesn't include for land and construction prices, and there would be "significant" regulatory changes needed to get the proposal happening. 

It's certainly a gamble that will require serious thought.

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