What do you really get for a $7,000 Tesla Powerwall home battery?

What do you really get for a $7,000 Tesla Powerwall home battery?Tesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests pose with the Powerwall unit after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, with a Powerpack unit the background unveils suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests pose with the Powerwall unit after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: A guests takes photographs of the Powerpack system after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests pose with the Powerwall unit after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, with a Powerpack system in the background unveils suite of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at the Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: The Powerpack system which powered the news conference in seen after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, with a graphic unveils suite of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at the Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesENVIRONMENT-US-TECHNOLOGY-ENERGY-TESLAPeople look at newly-unveiled Tesla Powerwall batteries at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, April 30, 2015. Electric car pioneer Telsa Motors unveiled a 'home battery' Thursday which its founder Elon Musk said would help change the 'entire energy infrastructure of the world.' AFP PHOTO / David McNew (Photo credit should read DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images)Image Credit: DAVID MCNEW via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests pose with the Powerwall unit after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests pose with the Powerwall unit after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests look at a Powerwall system on display after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesTesla Unveils New Battery SystemLOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Guests take photographs of the Powerwall system after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California. Musk unveiled the home battery named Powerwall with a selling price of $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh and very large utility pack called Powerpack. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty ImagesMore PhotosTesla Motors 2015 Q1 Shareholder LetterTesla Powerwall Home Battery Energy StorageTesla RevozportTesla Gigafactory Progress Tesla Motors 2014 Q4 Shareholder LetterAutoblog Staff

Elon Musk, the star CEO of the electric car company Tesla Motors and the rocket company SpaceX, staged an elaborate event last month to unveil a new product. Not a sleek new luxury car. Not a rocket that can ferry people to Mars. A home appliance – a battery – that can be mounted on a garage wall and ignored.

The reason for all the excitement is because of what batteries like these might someday do. They may make the electric power grid more robust and able to handle increasing amounts of wind and solar power. In conjunction with rooftop solar systems, batteries may help homeowners reduce their electric bills. And some homeowners, like Mike Thielen – who installed a Tesla battery prototype last year in his Redondo Beach, CA, home as part of a state home storage testing program – would like to use them to say goodbye to their electric utility forever.

"I think it's brilliant," Thielen said of Tesla's home battery. "I would consider upgrading to a more powerful home battery if they could figure out a way to get me totally off the grid."

That future, though, is not close. "Off-grid electricity supply will remain punishingly expensive for the foreseeable future," wrote Bernstein Research analyst Hugh Wynne in a recent report.

For now, and likely for several more years, Tesla's home battery, called a Powerwall, is a backup power source not much different from the generators for sale at any hardware store. It will keep the lights on and the refrigerator cold during a blackout, but it doesn't run power-hungry devices like air conditioners or clothes dryers.

At an installed cost of about $7,000, it's an appliance that makes very little financial sense for most people.

Tesla lists the price of the battery at $3,500, but that does not include installation, or an additional piece of equipment called an inverter that is needed to connect the battery to the home. To get a sense of the system's full price look to Tesla's sister company SolarCity, a solar panel installer founded by Musk's cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. Musk is SolarCity's chairman and largest shareholder.

SolarCity offers a 9-year Powerwall lease for $5,000 when part of a rooftop solar panel installation and financing contract. To buy and install the battery outside of financing a solar deal, the price is $7,140.

That's some pricey power, given how infrequently the lights go out. The average US home loses power for just under 2 hours a year. Over the course of a nine-year lease that average homeowner would pay $277 for each hour the battery is running.

To some, that peace of mind may be worth it, though many who wanted that peace of mind bought a home backup generator long ago.

The price to go completely off the grid is even higher because that would require a rooftop solar system bigger than what is now usually installed, and at least two Powerwall batteries. That kind of system would cost $96,000 without subsidies, about 74 years of electric bills for an average US customer, calculates Bernstein Research's Wynne. Even assuming the cost of solar and batteries declines by 80 percent in the coming years and that it will be subsidized by clean-energy incentives, the system would still cost 2.5 times more than buying electricity from the grid, according to Wynne.

The Tesla battery still has appeal, however, and that appeal could grow with regulatory changes that would enable owners to get more use out of their batteries.

As a back-up power source, a battery is small, unobtrusive, and tucked away on a wall. If paired with a solar system, it doesn't require any gasoline, diesel or other fuel — which might also run out during an emergency. And it doesn't produce any exhaust that can be dangerous if not vented properly.

In locations with very high power costs, like Hawaii, or very unreliable power, like in some developing countries, solar paired with a battery could be worthwhile right away. Batteries could also help solar customers in the states that don't allow home-generated solar to offset grid power use get more value out of their panels. With a battery, customers could store the excess power the panels sometimes generate for use later.

And in the future, it's expected that more utilities and regulators will allow power prices to change throughout the day based on market conditions. Such a change would mean the software that controls the solar and battery system could help customers save money by using home-generated power when grid prices are high.

Batteries could really start to make financial sense if home and commercial batteries could be turned into so-called virtual power plants. Companies are working on systems that control a large group of batteries together as if it were one large power source. Battery owners might be able to sell their stored electricity to utilities during periods of high demand on the grid – which would help them pay off their otherwise ignored and expensive appliances faster.

The AP contributed to this report.Featured GalleryTesla Powerwall Launch

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Consumer Reports sours on Tesla Model S for faulty door handles

Consumer Reports sours on Tesla Model S for faulty door handlesEV Maker Gets High Marks For Service Responsiveness, ThoughImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew Phillips2015 Model SMSRP$69,900ShopReviewsMore PhotosLarte's Tesla Model S aftermarket kitTesla Model S Software Update 6.2Unplugged Performance Tesla Model S: SEMA 2014Saleen FourSixteen Model S: Monterey 2014Saleen Tesla Model SNewport Convertible Enterprises Tesla Model S ConvertibleDanny King

Tesla Motors needs to get a handle on those door handles. That's what Consumer Reports is saying after it effectively got locked out of the Tesla Model S P85D that it was testing out. $127,000 doesn't buy what it used to, in some cases.

The popular electric vehicle features retractable door handles that are supposed to pop out when the driver arrives. It's a cool feature, when it works. After less than a month of driving its vehicle, though, CR said the driver's side door handle stopped popping out, rendering the car undrivable. The upside is that a Tesla technician made a next-day house call and quickly repaired the problem, so the California-based automaker gets points for being as responsive as its super-quick sedans.

"Model S's connectivity paired with over-the-air software updates allow Tesla to diagnose and fix most problems in Model S without the owner ever coming in for service. In instances when hardware, like the door handle, need to be replaced, we strive to make it painless for a customer to get their Model S serviced," Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson wrote in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen. "Every fix is an opportunity for us to learn and apply towards making owning a Model S a great experience."

Last fall, Consumer Reports gave the Model S an "average" reliability rating after factoring in responses from 1,300 Tesla owners as well as its own experience driving the car for about 16,000 miles. The most-prominent issues at the time were creaky windshields and, yes, faulty door handles. CR was more charitable with its May 2013 assessment of the Model S, which it gave a score of 99 out of 100 and called the vehicle the most practical electric car it had ever tested.Featured Gallery2015 Tesla Model S P85D: Detroit 2015

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Tesla can now sell cars direct in Maryland

Tesla can now sell cars direct in MarylandBill Goes Into Effect Oct. 1 With A Four-Dealership Maximum For TeslaImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew PhillipsImage Credit: Drew Phillips2015 Model SMSRP$69,900ShopReviewsMore PhotosLarte's Tesla Model S aftermarket kitTesla Model S Software Update 6.2Unplugged Performance Tesla Model S: SEMA 2014Saleen FourSixteen Model S: Monterey 2014Saleen Tesla Model SNewport Convertible Enterprises Tesla Model S ConvertibleDanny King

Maryland's governor has signed a bill to allow Tesla Motors to skip third-party dealerships and sell directly to customers. Governor Larry Hogan signed House Bill 235 into law this week, which will allow California-based Tesla to open up as many as four dealerships in Maryland starting Oct. 1, the International Business Times says.

Oddly, unlike other states where Tesla has fought for rights to sell direct to customers, House Bill 235 was supported by the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, in part because there's a catch. An automaker like Tesla is allowed to open only four dealerships, and they have to only sell EVs. States like Georgia have recently agreed to allow Tesla direct-to-customer vehicle sales, while states such as West Virginia and Texas remain steadfast against it.

Another party against direct-to-customer vehicle sales is General Motors, which lobbied against Maryland's HB 235. That automaker has maintained that all automakers should operate under the same rules and just because Tesla sells electric vehicles, it shouldn't be given any extra allowances when it comes to distribution channels. HB 235 was approved by the state's legislature in April.Featured Gallery2015 Tesla Model S P85D: Detroit 2015

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Tesla acquisition sends penny stock soaring, but buyer beware

Tesla acquisition sends penny stock soaring, but buyer bewareChris Bruce

Tesla made its first acquisition of another business on May 7 when it bought Michigan-based tool and die company Riviera Tool LLC for an undisclosed sum. Some stock speculators might have gotten the worst part of the deal, however, when they bought shares in a basically worthless company with the very similar name Riviera Tool Co.

The excitement in the stock market started shortly after Tesla's May 7 announcement. Riviera Tool's share price jumped from less than a penny to 22 cents by the end of the day, according to The Detroit Free Press, and peaked during that time at 60 cents. However, investors were buying up the wrong company, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had to step in to stop things.

Much like the distinction between Old GM and New GM, there are actually two companies named Riviera Tool. According to The Detroit Free Press, the original was purchased in 2007 and delisted from the stock exchange. It was then transformed into Riviera Tool LLC, which Tesla bought. However, some of the shares of the previous iteration still existed to be traded off of the stock exchange, and this confused investors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority now has the duty of sorting this whole mess out, according to The Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, Tesla reportedly plans to rename its new acquisition Tesla Tool & Die.

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