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Tesla completed Q1 with $18.75 billion in revenue, a new quarterly record for the company. Well done to the Tesla team facing another challenging quarter. In this blog, we’re going to translate that into how much solar energy we could buy. We’ll see the world has a long way to go on its shift to a renewable economy.
Before we begin, keep in mind 1 TWh of electricity is equal to 1,000,000,000 kWh of electricity (or a billion or a 1 followed by 9 zeroes). According to Statista, the US consumed 3,930 TWh of electricity in 2021.
On their website, Tesla’s largest solar system is 24 kW in size. The cost is $50,880. That means we could purchase 368,514 complete solar systems with Tesla’s Q1 revenue.
Our 7 kW system can generate about 50 kWh on a good day. That means Tesla’s largest system can generate 171 kWh per day (24/7 * 50 kWh). In a year, this hypothetical system could generate 62,571 kWh. With the 368,514 systems we bought, that gives us a grand total of 23,059,073,142 kWh in a year. Remember 1 TWh = 1,000,000,000 kWh. That means Tesla’s record breaking quarter equals 23.059 TWh of maximum solar generated electricity in a year.
Earlier, I said the US used 3,930 TWh in 2021. 23.059 TWh generated divided 3,930 TWh = 0.59%. Even if you annualize that number for four quarters of solar production, we get about 2.4%. If Tesla didn’t grow at all (not realistic), it would take 42 years of constant solar production to equal what the US consumes in a year.
That’s the scale of the problem we face today. Luckily, Tesla is not the only one shifting us towards a renewable economy and we have already started. They are inspiring others to act. It does show we are in the beginning stages of a larger move to sustainability. It highlights the opportunity to compete and grow in the renewable space.
Featured image from Tesla
With peace, love, and hope,
smilingdad
smilingdad 