Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, an electric car, and energy company, has launched a challenge to the Australian government to address energy failures in South Australia. The American businessman says he can solve the problem in 100 days - and adds that if the promise is not met, it offers a battery system that can store up to 100 megawatts.
On Thursday, Lyndon Rive, vice president of SolarCity, Tesla's energy products subsidiary, told AFR that it would be possible to end power failures by installing a power store with a capacity to generate between 100 and 300 Megawatts per hour. Only one megawatt is enough to power about 650 households using clean energy. This was SolarCity's response to the ongoing power outages in that region, which has suffered from rising prices and a lack of confidence in the energy grid overall. Problems began as soon as Victoria's power station closed.
This offer from Tesla elicited a response from Mike Cannon-Brookes, Australian co-founder of innovation startup Atlassian. Cannon-Brookes used Twitter to ask if Tesla was serious about this commitment: "Lyndon & elonmusk - how serious are you about this bet? If I can make the $ happen (& politics), can you guarantee the 100MW in 100 days? "
Elon Musk replied: "Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you? " In the following tweet, Musk quoted a price of $250 per kilowatt hour, using a system of 100 megawatts per hour. This power implies the purchase of storage with the price of 25 million dollars.
"You’re on mate. Give me 7 days to try sort out politics & funding", Cannon-Brookes wrote. "My phone hasn't stopped buzzing. The support is flooding in, both from individuals in terms of 'Hell yes!' and from corporates who are asking: 'Can we buy power? Can we contribute dollars?'", Cannon-Brookes told Reuters.
Continuing blackouts in South Australia since September last year have waged a political war on the energy issue. The Australian federal government says the failures are due to the use of renewable energy.
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Wow. I would really like to see this get done.
Hahahaha! He controls time and space
And I thought it was for the Adamantium...