Tesla's storage, solar deployments rise Y/Y in Q1

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) increased its energy storage and solar deployments in the first quarter of 2021 by 71% and 163% year-over-year, respectively.

The company deployed 445 MWh of storage in the quarter, up from 260 MWh in the first quarter of 2020. In its quarterly results on Monday, Tesla said the rise mainly reflects the popularity of its Powerwall home battery. As Powerwall demand continues to outstrip its production rate, the company said, it recently shifted Powerall deliveries to solar customers only.

The electric vehicle maker added it may resume offering Powerall as a stand-alone product as it increases its production rate. Blackout events like the recent snowstorm in Texas are fuelling customer demand for home energy storage, the company also said.

Tesla's first-quarter storage deployments, however, are down from 1,584 MWh in the fourth quarter of 2020. This was attributed mainly to the timing of project milestones which can lead to wide variations in quarterly deployments.

Solar deployments are staging a recovery, growing to 92 MW in the first three months of 2021 from 35 MW a year ago and 86 MW in the previous quarter. This was the company's strongest quarter for solar sales in two and a half years. Tesla also said that Solar Roof deployments grew nine times compared to the year-ago period.

Details of Tesla's performance in the quarter:

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