After claiming that interest in Powerwall and Powerpack was “overwhelming” and “crazy” seven months before the first commercial installations began, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that close to 400,000 people have reserved a Model 3, due out next year. Andy Colthorpe asks how much Tesla’s overall success in its stated mission to accelerate the transition to clean energy is pinned to a successful roll-out from the Gigafactory for the car.

Registration opens today for Tesla’s Model 3, the longer range, cheaper electric vehicle (EV) that the company hopes will repeat the success of its existing luxury models.

The head of an Australian solar installer has criticised Tesla’s marketing of its residential energy storage devices, claiming that potential end customers have been given unrealistically low expectations on the system’s pricing.

Nigel Morris, chief executive at solar firm RoofJuice Australia, who has been in the solar game for more than two decades, explains what stands in the way of Australia’s significant energy storage potential.

Tesla executives were unwilling to publicly put figures on expected sales for the company’s stationary storage products or for near-term cost reduction objectives, but said that production is on track.

Thus far, the relationship between incumbent utilities and the rise of distributed energy storage has been a difficult one. Cosmin Laslau of Lux Research gives his quick take on one US utility’s plan to stay in the game, offering Tesla Powerwalls to customers in three different ownership models.

SMA is aiming to tackle the market for retrofitting energy storage systems in to existing home PV installations, with a new AC-coupled version of its Sunny Boy inverter suitable for high voltage batteries.

Panasonic has given the first indication of the expected size of its investment in collaborator-competitor Tesla’s battery Gigafactory, which according to the company’s president could be up to US$1.6 billion.

Production and deliveries of Tesla’s stationary storage systems have now begun, while a company spokesman said it welcomes new competitors such as Faraday Future to the EV space – in line with Tesla’s stated values to accelerate clean energy deployment.

The first Tesla Powerwall home energy storage systems to go on sale in the US through a utility are being sold through Vermont’s Green Mountain Power which is including a “no upfront cost” option for its customers.