AP says Tesla's Elon Musk is embarking on another one of his 'far-out projects'

California-based Tesla Motors has revolutionized travel with all-electric luxury cars that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and a nationwide network of free Superchargers. Now, Tesla is planning to do the same with home energy.

Eight Supercharges are available at Tesla's Showroom and Service Center on Route 17 north in Paramus, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A Tesla home storage battery that can keep your lights on and your appliances humming during a blackout has been dismissed as a 'far out' project.

An Associated Press story said David Foster paid $7,500 for his battery as part of  pilot program after California state incentives -- less than the cost of a noisy standby generator powered by natural gas.

Thousands of those generators were installed in the New Jersey-New York area after Superstorm Sandy plunged much of the region into darkness in late 2012.

Yet, AP reporters Michael Liedtke and Jonathan Fahey, who are based in California, say "as with Tesla's electric cars," the battery "will probably be too expensive for most consumers."

Of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the reporters say "he is renowned for pursuing far-out projects" like "colonizing Mars ... one of Musk's goals at Space X, a rocket maker he also runs" (The Record of Woodland Park).

Powerwall

Today, Musk announced Tesla Energy's home battery will be about the size of a large flat-screen TV and cost only $3,500.

Musk is calling it the Powerwall Home Battery, and his Tesla Web site shows the battery under an elegant cover mounted on the wall of a garage holding a Model S.

The official announcement came only a few hours after the AP story appeared in morning newspapers, but showed what is often the case with the wire service:

Its reporters are uninformed and often base their stories on mere speculation, not facts.

See: The Tesla Powerwall

Solar power

As a homeowner with more than 60 solar panels on my roof, Tesla's home battery is just what I am looking for as an alternative to a noisy, expensive backup generator.

A battery that can store electricity also would supplement the power generated by the panels, making me even less dependent on the grid.

Now, I generate all the electricity I need five to six months out of the year, meaning I pay nothing to power my home.

In addition, I have earned more than $10,000 from selling solar credits to my utility through a middle man.