Tesla Powerwall price cut for South Africa

Tesla’s Powerwall 2 will be available at a discounted price with cheaper installation on Takealot for a limited time.

Tesla’s official energy product distributor in South Africa, Rubicon, notified MyBroadband of the deal.

The recommended retail price of the Powerwall 2 with a Tesla Gateway unit in South Africa is currently R174,000, excluding installation.

As part of the special offer on Takealot, shoppers will be able to buy this package for R156,000, a discount of R18,000 over the regular price.

In addition, buyers will receive a voucher of R6,000 to be applied towards their Powerwall installation by a certified Tesla partner.

The cost of this installation typically runs at R20,000.

Therefore, the overall cost of the Powerwall 2 package with Gateway and installation will be R170,000.

That is R24,000 cheaper than the regular price with installation.

The Takealot Powerwall 2 deal will be available from next week (14 to 20 October 2024).

While the Powerwall 2 is more expensive than some other all-in-one inverter and battery systems available in South Africa, it has nonetheless proven immensely popular locally.

Rubicon recorded substantial demand for the original Powerwall after launching it locally in 2018, with units selling as fast as they landed in the country.

The company subsequently brought the second iteration to South Africa near the end of 2019.

The Powerwall 2 boasts a built-in 5kW inverter with 13.5kWh of battery capacity in a sleek cuboid enclosure which can be installed indoor or outdoors.

The Foschini Group was one of the company’s biggest Powerwall customers in South Africa, buying 307 units in 2022.

Aside from its attractive design and high environmental protection, Tesla’s batteries boast an industry-best 100% depth-of-discharge (DoD) rating.

The company guarantees at least 80% capacity retention with unlimited cycles after ten years of use.

Most other battery brands guarantee the same for a specified number of cycles, typically 6,000, at up to 80% or 90% DoD.

Rubicon e-Mobility and sustainability managing director Greg Blandford recommended that users pair the Powerwall 2 with a solar system.

“The flexibility of the system allows clients to add solar at a later date if they so wish, but it is best to pair Powerwall with a solar panel array and grid-tied inverter to maximise savings,” he said.

Blandford explained that one big benefit of Tesla’s software is that it can easily optimise solar, battery, and grid usage to realise the best possible cost savings, even on variable municipal time-of-use (ToU) tariffs applicable.

“Currently, municipalities may penalise customers who have solar systems installed by applying high rates to peak energy usage times and lower rates in off-peak hours, typically when energy is being sold to the grid at midday and loads are low,” he said.

With the Tesla app and Powerwall, customers can input their ToU pricing for optimised consumption and see real-world savings on the app.

Below are several screenshots from the Tesla app, showing the real-world performance and ToU settings for customers in South Africa.

New model launched in the US

Tesla is no longer making the Powerwall 2, with the Powerwall 3 replacing it in the US earlier in 2024.

The successor model has the same 13.5kWh battery capacity as the Powerwall 2 but boasts over twice the continuous inverter output at 11.5kW instead of 5kW.

That makes it a significantly better option for off-grid installations and users with more demanding power needs — like electric vehicle owners.

It also comes with an integrated solar inverter, whereas the Powerwall 2 requires a separate inverter.

Powerwall 3 boasts either three or six individual solar connections, officially known as Maximum Power Point Trackers, both of which can support up to 20kW of solar generation.

In addition to the improved integration with solar, the Powerwall 3 supports both AC and DC coupling, while the Powerwall 2 could only be coupled via AC.

Environmental protection parameters have also remained the same, with the Powerwall 3 capable of operating in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 50°C and being suitable for both indoor and outdoor placement.

The only downgrade with the new model is a reduction in storage scaling capability.

Whereas the Powerwall 2 supported stringing together up to 10 units for a combined capacity of 135kWh, the Powerwall 3 can only combine up to four units for 54kWh.

On the design side, the Powerwall 3 retains the cuboid shape but features a white glowing Tesla logo on the front instead of the Tesla name.

Below are the specifications and images of the Tesla Powerwall 2 and Powerwall 3.