Gary Zhou 
The Tesla Powerwall 2 battery is about to get significantly more impressive, with CEO Elon Musk recently noting that the residential energy storage unit is poised to receive a free software update in the near future. This update, which could roll out sometime next month, would allow some Powerwall batteries to have a power increase of over 50%.
The Powerwall 2 was introduced back in 2016, and it hasn’t been updated much since its release. Over the years, they tweaked the energy capacity a little down to 13.5 kWh, and the weight has gone down from 122 kg (269 lbs) to 114 kg (251.3 lbs).
The main thing that has changed with the home battery pack is its price, which has been increased several times as Tesla couldn’t keep up with the demand.
Thanks to its specs and early-mover advantage, the Powerwall has been dominating the home battery pack sector despite only minor updates over the last five years.
Now Elon Musk is announcing the first significant update to Powerwall 2’s capacity.
After announcing that Tesla will only sell solar products bundled with Powerwall on Twitter last night, the CEO added that Powerwall 2 has now a higher power capacity:
“Powerwall 2 peak and steady power capability is better than advertised. Now that we have lots of operational data, Tesla can unlock higher capabilities for free via software update next month. Depending on production date, power increase power may be >50% at 30C ambient temp.”
There are two important pieces of information in this comment.
First off, Musk seems to say that Tesla has determined through data that older Powerwall 2 can push a higher power output than the currently advertised 7kW peak and 5kW continuous.
That’s going to be unlocked through a software update pushed to Powerwalls next month.
Secondly, Tesla also made hardware changes to improve the power capacity in more recent Powerwall 2 battery units since the CEO mentioned that the extent of the power increase is dependent “on the production date.”
Musk says that the power output can increase by over 50% in ambient temperature.
The CEO also revealed that Tesla’s recently launched solar inverter, which was offered with 3.8 kW and 7.6 kW power outputs, has also been updated for more than 10 kW power output.
