Tesla has “product alternative” in attaching Bitcoin miners to solar programs, says Ark Analysis Head – Benzinga

By Last updated Apr 22, 2021

Solar energy systems supplied by Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) can generate funds if a Bitcoin According to Brett Winton, Director of Research at Ark Investment Management LLC at Cathie Wood, the miner (BTC) is connected to it in the pre-installation phase.

What happened: Winton announced on Twitter on Wednesday that Tesla had been installing solar panels since January, but that they had “not generated a single watt-hour” because the utility had not yet approved the connection.

He also said he has not yet paid Tesla to install it as the company will not collect until it starts generating electricity.

“In other words, for that friction, I paid the higher upfront cost needed to repay Tesla for its cost of capital,” Winton said in a separate tweet.

According to Winton, if a bitcoin mining machine were plugged into the system, the solar array would likely have generated $ 1,500 in the time it waited for it to be approved by the utility, but instead “idled”.

The Ark manager elaborated on the associated cost, which he believed was $ 17,000 for the solar system and $ 20,000 for the “the right size miner.”

If Tesla had sold the solar and battery system in conjunction with the Bitcoin miner – before approving the interconnection of the system – it could “operate a closed circuit against the miner”; Once connected, the sending algorithm would optimize between revenue per hash and the network, ”said Winton.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, made it clear in a response to Winton that approval from the utility is typically not required when electricity is stored in the company’s battery.

Did you buy a Powerwall? A license from the electricity supplier is required for electricity to flow back into the grid, but usually not if this is stored in our battery. This also enables 24/7 power security for your home.

Utility approval is still required when Powerwall is full and ready to stabilize the network.

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2021

Why it matters: musk later announced that from next week, Tesla will only sell solar panels and roofs bundled with its Powerwall.

Winton suggested that there is a “product opportunity” regarding Bitcoin miners, but his math on Twitter was “very crude”.

BTC hit an all-time high of $ 64,863.10 on April 14, and its high valuation has sparked interest in cryptocurrency mining in general. BTC was trading 2.96% lower at $ 54,067.39 at the time of going to press.

Read Next: Why Tesla Is Facing Legal Threats From Solar Roof Customers

Shares of several cryptocurrency mining companies such as Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN), Sos Ltd. (NYSE: SOS), Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) have gotten a rift in connection with the red-hot cryptocurrency markets.

Canaan, Sos and Riot stocks are up 132.2%, 191.2% and 143.1%, respectively, since the beginning of 2021.

Tesla invested $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February and has become irresistible to institutional investors like Jack Dorsey Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR).

Price action: Tesla stock closed 3.5% higher at $ 744.12 on Wednesday and fell 0.47% after the close of business.

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