Tesla solar tile roof

Tesla's solar installs drop, but battery business is booming

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Tesla solar tile roof

Image Credits: Tesla

Tesla’s once-leading solar business is in decline, according to the latest figures from its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report.

The automaker revealed on Wednesday that its solar deployments cratered by 36% to a total of 223 megawatts (MW) last year, down from 348 MW in 2022. Although high interest rates slowed solar growth in some markets, Tesla’s shrinkage came as the United States notched a record year overall; the U.S. added 33 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2023, per estimates from SEIA, a solar industry group.

It was a bad year for Tesla solar — its worst since 2020. If we zoom in, the final quarter of 2023 looks worse still.

In Q4 2023, Tesla’s solar deployments dropped 59% year-over-year to 41 MW — down from 100 MW in Q4 2022. Aside from blaming interest rates, the company offered no other explanation for the wattage decline. At least part of the blame may fall on a shift in Tesla’s strategy from installer to supplier. The automaker laid off some of its own solar installers last year and cancelled numerous scheduled “solar roof” installations, per Electrek. Tesla bought SolarCity a little more than seven years ago, for $2.6 billion.

Next to solar, Tesla’s energy generation and storage business is booming (surprise, surprise). The company said its energy storage deployments — which include Powerwall home batteries and utility-scale Megapacks, topped 14,724 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2023, up by 125% from the year earlier.

Despite the overall boom, Tesla commented that it expects some volatility in energy deployments quarter-by-quarter, and the firm’s Q4 results show as much. The automaker deployed 3,202 MWh in Q4 2023; down from the prior three quarters, but up if you compare that figure to the same quarter a year earlier (Q4 2022).

The scale of Tesla’s residential solar business isn’t what it once was. Yet, commercial and home batteries still play a key role in the switch to renewable energy sources, as they store intermittently available clean energy for later use. Such batteries can also help communities, and even entire islands and states, prepare for extreme weather by reducing peak demand on the grid and providing backup energy during outages. 

Tesla says EV sales growth may be ‘notably lower’ in 2024

Google Pixel 8 close-u, showing the top of the screen and front camera module

Google's latest Pixel Drop will let users post high-quality photos, videos on Instagram

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Google Pixel 8 close-u, showing the top of the screen and front camera module

Image Credits: Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch

Google today announced its latest set of Pixel-related features for phones tablets, and watches, such as 10-bit video support for Instagram, expansion of the Circle to search feature, automatic workout detection on the original pixel watch and selective app screening for multiple pixel devices.

Pixel phone updates

The company is now allowing users to capture and upload 10-bit HDR videos on Instagram. Additionally, it is also adding support for sharing Ultra HDR images on Instagram. This feature is available to users on the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold.

In January, Google introduced its “Circle to search” feature, which lets users circle an item on the screen to perform a search, with Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series launch. Later in the month, the company made the feature available to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro users. Google today said the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users will be able to use this feature soon.

Google’s ‘Circle to Search’ feature is now available on the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 series

Google has made improvements such as conversation mode to its call screening feature. The new Pixel Drop brings a “Hello” chip in this mode, which will have Google Assistant nudge a caller to speak. Plus, the assistant can also ask the caller to wait if you can’t screen the call right away.

Pixel 8-Call Screen Update
Image Credits: Google

Pixel Watch updates

Google is rolling out two updates to the original Pixel Watch to help users train better, namely Pace training and Heart Zone training. The Pace training mode uses GPS and motion sensors to notify you if you fall outside the pace range you have specified before the workout. Similarly, the Heart Zone training mode works to monitor heart rate ranges.

GooglePixelWatches PaceTraining HeartZoneTraining
Image Credits: Google

The new update also brings automatic workout start and stop detection to the first-gen Pixel Watch.

Additionally, the company is releasing the Fitbit Relax app for guided breading experiences and mindfulness to both Pixel Watches.

Pixel Watch now has Fitbit Relax app
Image Credits: Google

Portfolio updates

Google will be rolling out an update that lets all devices, including the Pixel 5a and newer, Pixel Tablet, and Pixel Fold, let you just share a specific app’s screen during a video call.

Pixel Tablet Partial Screen Sharing
Image Credits: Google

Additionally, the company is adding support to quickly add a previously used FastPair-compatible Bluetooth accessory to a new device through subsequent pairing features.

Google fast pair
Image Credits: Google

The company is also allowing users to use a stylus or their finger to annotate documents on the Pixel Tablet, and Pixel 8 and newer. With the new update, the Pixel Tablet is getting a feature where the keyboard shrinks to a smaller size if you are using voice input.

Tesla refreshed Model 3 highland sedan

Tesla blames sales drop on Houthi attacks and arson in Germany

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Tesla refreshed Model 3 highland sedan

Image Credits: Tesla

Tesla just turned in one of its more disappointing first quarters for deliveries in a while, and the company is putting some of the blame on an arson attack at its factory in Germany and shipping disruptions caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

Tesla said Tuesday that it delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down 20% from the 484,507 it delivered in the final quarter of 2023. Crucially, Tesla shipped fewer cars than it did in the first quarter of 2023, meaning this was the first year-over-year drop in sales in three years.

Production was also down year-over-year, which Tesla attributed to switching to making the new Model 3, as well as the other disruptions. The arson attack shut down the Germany factory for nearly a week, and Tesla suspended production there for two weeks in January due to the problems in the Red Sea. The company’s stock fell more than 6% in early trading.

These drops come just two months after Tesla warned that sales growth could be “notably lower” in 2024 as it comes off a successful 2023 fueled by price cuts. The company claimed in January that it is “between two major growth waves” as it tries to ramp up production of the Cybertruck. It also has a lower-cost EV in the works, though plans for that have already shifted, and the company has said it is trying to create an all-new manufacturing process to get costs lower.

The company is facing increasing competition in China, too, where companies big and small are flooding the market with low-cost EVs. Bloomberg News reported last month that Tesla curtailed output at its Shanghai factory as a result of slower sales growth in the country.

Tesla tried to pull a few tricks at the end of the quarter to boost sales, as it usually does. The company promoted a one-month free trial of its advanced driver assistance software (which it calls Full Self-Driving, even though it does not make the cars autonomous). It also teased through much of March that it was hiking prices starting April 1.

This story has been updated to include more information about Tesla’s factory shutdowns.